Aureate Bastion
by MagnanimousZ
Summary: After receiving words of wisdom from an old Kage, a boy with no family or friends wants to change his life for the better. He decides that his first step is to make some friends. His first target is another orphan; a girl who has unknowingly held a great burden all her life. How will their friendship evolve, and how will it affect the future of their world? OC MainChar. Fem!Naruto.
1. Platinum Prologue

Aureate Bastion - Platinum Prologue

*sigh*

 _I feared this sort of situation would arise eventually. Now, here I am at the hospital at a bit after 10 PM. Visiting a child no less._

I pause at the sliding door to the hospital room numbered 306 to collect my thoughts.

 _It pains my old heart to have to come here for a reason like this, but I must steel myself now. This isn't going to be an easy conversation._

I slide the door open and walk in, closing the door after me. I look to the only occupied bed in the room. The figure of a young boy with shoulder length dark hair, sitting up in the bed is illuminated by the moonlight filtering in through the windows; bandages and adhesive patches visible on him even in the dim light. His blank expression as he stares ahead at nothing draws my attention, and my presence draws his. He turns to face me as I walk closer. As I approach though, his formerly blank expression shifts to one of surprised recognition, then to one of fear, before settling on what I feel is a look of despairing acceptance. He then looks away from me again.

 _Having a child of my own village look at me with fear and show such a hopeless expression, feels like a stab to my old heart. A 10-year-old boy shouldn't have to show such an expression._

I take a seat on the chair beside his bed. I notice him tense up as I sit.

 _I need to talk to him in order to understand and hopefully fix this situation._

"Good evening child" I address him gently. "How are you feeling? The medical report says you aren't hurt badly and should be fully recovered soon. Would you like to talk about what happened?"

The boy doesn't turn to look at me, nor does he respond to my question. I wait for a moment before I ask something else, but his eventual response stops me cold.

"Are you here to execute me?" He asks sombrely, as he turns to face me; his desperate eyes reflect the moonlight, making them appear even more silver than normal.

 _Execute him!? What does the boy have going through his mind at this moment for him to ask me something like that? The situation is worse than I thought._

*sigh*

"No child, of course not." I respond to reassure him. "You are the victim here this evening. Why would you think you were going to be punished?"

The boy's gaze shifts down to his lap, before he gives his response.

"Because I injured a shinobi, and...and" he pauses a bit in his response as his expression turns sour. "Because I'm from a family of traitors, traitors who got people killed. The guy who I hurt said that you would execute me as punishment in place of my parents. In place of my family who died before the village could exact justice on them."

I stare at the boy for a few moments before I close my eyes.

 _Why did things have to end up this way? The boy not only has to live as one of the many orphans from the incident 9 years ago, but he also has to live with the stigma of being the progeny of shinobi who betrayed us. How many more of our children are going to have to suffer the choices of we who came before them._

I open my eyes to meet the boy's gaze, and give him my response.

"I see." I say gently. "Can you please tell me exactly what happened to you this evening?"

The boy turns his gaze to look out the window before he begins to give me the details of what happened to him.

"It rained today so there was lots of extra mud to play with in the forest." He begins, a bit shyly. "So, I was going home a bit late today after playing around a bit too much."

His statement causes me to smile a bit.

 _I remember hearing that he liked to play with dirt and mud when he was younger. He must be embarrassed that he still enjoys doing so._

"So, I was running back to my apartment when a couple of men I don't know walked out in front of me and blocked the path." The boy continues. "I was going to go around them but one of them called out my name, so I stopped to see what they wanted. They asked if I was the traitors' son. I was wary of them then, but answered 'yes' anyway. They told me they had a bone to pick with my family and I should follow them to sort it out. I'm... I'm sick of people giving me shit because of my parents, so I told them to leave me alone and went to leave, but one of them turned out to be a shinobi. He grabbed me and easily threw me into a nearby alley."

 _An experienced genin shinobi, I believe the report said. The boy is lucky to not have been hurt any worse than he was._

After a slight pause the boy continues.

"The shinobi was no slouch and he quickly grabbed me in an arm lock from behind right as I got back up." The boy frowns as he continues. "The other man came closer then and punched me in the face. He said he was the dad of one of the kids from my academy class who I had hurt in training... He also said that his son's aunt, his sister, was killed because of my parents. The shinobi who held me also said my parents killed his father which left him and his mother to take care of themselves. That was why they were coming after me."

The boy pauses for a bit again.

 _I can't believe these men thought that assaulting a child, whose only real mistake was being careless during training, was an appropriate action. The foolishness of people never ceases to disappoint me._

"They then started hitting me, telling me how much they hate my family, and telling me to get out of the village. It hurt, but I eventually managed to push the older man away and get a good hit on the shinobi. I think I broke his arm or something, because he growled something fierce and was really angry. Angry enough to pull out a kunai and charge at me, that is. That's when the other shinobi, a jōnin I think, came and stopped them."

 _Yes, I read the report, so I know who it was that saved the boy; what an odd twist of fate. For it to be a student of this boy's late father's to be the one who saved him this evening. I'm not sure if he knew who the boy he saved was, but I hope he did it with that knowledge in mind._

"The jōnin knocked out both men, and took me here and checked me in." The boy finishes his story up. "I don't know what he did with the two men, though I guess the one I hurt is here somewhere too."

"That he is." I respond. "His right forearm is broken rather severely, but his arm will heal with time. He is kept restrained in a different wing of this hospital at the moment. Though, I would like to know how a young boy like yourself managed to break an adult shinobi's arm so easily."

"I have a lot of free time." the boy answers. "When I'm not at the academy, I spend time out in the forest playing and training by myself. Not many other kids like to hang out with me. But... I, look am I in trouble here or..."

 _So the boy doesn't have any friends it seems. That isn't pleasant to hear._

He looks away from me again. I reach out to put a hand on his head. He shut his eyes and tenses up, but relaxes after I place my hand gently.

"You aren't in trouble" I tell him, as he looks back at me. "As I said before, you are the victim here, you aren't responsible for the actions of your family members or anyone else. You are a child of this village, and as such you are one of my children too, and I don't take people attacking children lightly in my village. The men who attacked you will be punished for their actions."

He looks down at his lap once more as I remove my hand. A pained expression on his face again.

 _How should I reassure the boy that he is a valued member of this village? I should try encourage him to__

"I want to betray the village!" The boy's sudden statement derails my thoughts. So much so that I don't respond before he continues. "I want to do like my family did and betray the village, so I can make all the cruel and ignorant people hurt like I do."

 _He wants to... I see. I can't let him stay like this. I don't need any more children growing resentful because of the whims of adults._

"You want to betray the village?" I ask him, but he doesn't look at me. "You want to hurt the people who have made you hurt?"

"I do." He says quietly. "I have no friends or people to stop me. I can do it!"

 _He wouldn't say this to me if he seriously intended to go through with it. I believe he is venting feelings he doesn't know how to handle. I need to make him understand his feelings and the meaning of what he is saying._

"Tell me child, do you know any good people in this village?" I ask him. "Do you want to hurt them too?"

"NO, of course not!" He turns to me with his immediate answer. "I don't want to hurt everyone, just... just, the ones who..."

He trails off, even more confused now. I see it in his eyes, before he avoids my gaze once more.

 _Good. He has positive feelings in him as well. He is just looking for a way to cope with the negative feelings that surround and fill him. I think I know what I need to tell him now._

"Child please listen to me now, and let me tell you a bit about humans." I begin, drawing his attention back to me. "When a person is hurt by someone, whether it is physical pain or emotional pain it doesn't matter, they suffer, and suffering begets suffering. A fundamental desire of people is to be understood, so when one suffers, it makes them want to hurt others in return, so that they can let others feel what they are feeling. Getting revenge on an individual, revenge on a group of people, or revenge on the world as a whole, this is where people often end up when they experience suffering."

The boy looks down at his lap, a deep frown marring his face now. I continue though, before he misunderstands my intent.

"There are plenty of people who gain or use their strength for vengeance." I tell him. "But I know that only a truly strong person can see past their own suffering and forgive those who have wronged them. Understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness are the first steps towards overcoming pain, and are marks of wisdom and a strong heart. Do you want to be a strong man?"

The boy stares directly into my eyes for a few moments, before responding.

"How?" Is what he says, never once breaking eye contact. "How do you forgive people? I don't know how to forgive the ignorant kids, and the spiteful adults. I don't know how to forgive them... forgive the people who... who left me like this."

 _I see. He resents not only those people who shunned and derided him for his family's choices. He also resents the family who left him alone with this stigma on his shoulders._

"I even don't know if everyone in the village deserves to be forgiven." He continues as he looks out the windows again. "I'm not the only kid that gets treated badly. There are others that people shun and kids pick on. How can I forgive them when they don't act like they even feel guilty?"

 _Other children being mistreated? Who would be... please don't tell me it's who I think it is! I need to ask._

"Who are you referring to with that?" I ask with some trepidation. "What other children are the villagers mistreating?"

The boy turns back to me and looks me in the eyes.

"The Red-haired girl" he responds, confirming my suspicions. "The villagers don't attack her or do anything aggressive to her, but I see it every so often, some give her hateful glares when she isn't looking, but most just coldly ignore her altogether. The other kids don't seem to hate her but they still don't hang out much with her and they pick on her sometimes too. I have seen it at least once, as she stood alone in a park... she looked really lonely, and it's because of this village."

 _...Another one of my failures that pains this old heart of mine. The daughter of those two, the daughter of_ _ **that**_ _man. Another child who I have failed, and now gathers resentment, where she should be finding her happiness. I need to start seriously trying to correct this._

"Indeed, the villagers who scorn you and others may not seem to feel guilty, but they too are hurting." I tell him softly. "Even years later they still feel the pain of loss, and it clouds their hearts and fills their minds with negative thoughts. For some, those feelings of pain will lessen with time and eventually be forgotten. However, some people let the dark thoughts and feelings fester in their minds and hearts, and with time it only gets worse. Not everyone has the strength to overcome their suffering, and they lash out at others and at the world. Which in turn causes more pain and suffering, and only serves to propagate the shadows that fill people's souls."

The boy now looks up with contemplation in his eyes. After a few moments of silence, he turns back to me and speaks.

"If I forgive them now it won't make them change; not today, not tomorrow, not next week either." He says, as his gaze meets mine unflinchingly. His silver eyes piercing straight into my own. "But if I am strong, and I keep taking their resentment and keep forgiving them, you think that things will change someday; that **they** will change someday?"

"I do." Is my immediate response. "If you learn to be strong, and keep demonstrating forgiveness and understanding, then eventually they will learn it too. Eventually they will understand, eventually they will accept the past, and eventually they will learn to forgive and forget. The people will forget their grudges, and they will forgive your family for what was done."

 _Please understand dear boy. There is meaning in learning forgiveness. Please take my words to heart!_

The boy looks down in contemplation. I continue talking for a bit more.

"It won't be quick, and it won't be easy." I state. "However, it will happen eventually. It will likely never happen though, if you don't start it yourself child."

 _I hope I can get through to him. If I can get him to change, maybe there is hope for these children's future, hope that_ _ **his**_ _daughter too will become strong. Strong enough to overcome the burden she holds, to find happiness, and find the strength to forgive us, to forgive us all._

The boy continues to sit and think on all I have told him.

 _I know. I know what might help... well, I hope it helps. It holds the possibility of leading to disaster, but... but I will put my faith in these children. Like their parents would have done._

"I mentioned before that people desire to be understood" I say, drawing his attention, hopefully for the last time tonight. "Perhaps you should seek out those who are like you, and work through this together. If you can understand each other then it will be a good first step towards learning to be strong, and together you can learn forgiveness."

"What do you mean?" He asks me, his brows furrowing in thought.

"The red-haired girl, you said she was lonely." I respond, hoping this will work out for the best. "How about you become her friend, and become friends with other children who are alone and hurting like you are. Then you can work together to become stronger and change the people's hearts by showing them your fortitude and your forgiveness."

 _It would do both of them a world of good to have a close friend to lean on and talk to. She could use a friend who understands her, and her infectiously positive attitude could do this boy some good._

"You want me to be friends... with a girl?" He asks unsurely. "I don't know about that. I don't really get along well with girls."

*sigh*

 _... preteen boy. Right. I guess he is still at the stage of not wanting to associate too much with girls. That does complicate this, but I guess I can't force people to be friends. I can only put the thoughts in their minds and let them decide how to deal with it themselves._

"I... see." I respond slowly. "Well... you should still make some close friends. People who you can play with and can help you out with training too."

The boy looks down, unsure about something.

"It's... not that I don't want friends to play and train with." He starts to say, but pauses for a while before continuing. "I just... don't know how to be friends with others. I mean, training with others is fun but most of the other kids can't play or train as hard as I do, and I have to be careful not to hurt them when we spar, like I did to that shinobi who attacked me earlier. I like training and I like fighting, but I don't really like hurting other kids. It's...it, just doesn't feel right."

 _I see that deep down he has the same gentle heart that his mother had... That is an odd thing for him to say though. His grades at the academy are not very impressive if memory serves me correctly, but then, neither were his father's...well it isn't incredibly important at the moment. I have got what I came here for and I have tried imparting some wisdom into the boy. It is now up to him to decide what he does with this._

I get up from my chair. He looks up at me searching for something. Answers I am sure.

"I have heard your story and your feelings, and I have told you what I think about it." I tell him as I turn and head for the door. "It is now **your** turn to think about what I have said and decide how you want to take my words."

I stop at the door before I open it and look back at the boy sitting in the bed, his silver eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.

"I have faith in you. Faith that you can become a strong shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and a strong man." I say, then I turn around and open the door.

"I... will think about it... Hokage-sama." He says to my back. "Thank you for talking to me tonight. Have a safe trip home, and a good evening."

I step through the door and turn around to close it, saying my last words to the boy this evening at the same time.

"I will." I respond with a smile. "Thank you Zen. Have a good evening yourself, get some rest my boy. I think you need it."

I close the door, and start the long walk back to my office. I have a few things to do before I can return home.

*sigh*

 _I am not going to get much sleep tonight. I can just tell. Oh well, that isn't anything new. This is how it has been for decades now. I just hope these children can find the strength to move on through the encumbrance we have placed on them. Minato and Kushina, Zenjirō and Miyu, your children are suffering right now, and for that you have my apologies. However, I sincerely believe that there is still hope for them and for us; hope that our mistakes won't be their undoing, but the weights that they bear in order to get stronger and grow up into fine adults someday._

Once I leave the hospital I gaze up at the night sky, with all its stars shining brightly.

 _Keep watching over them from the other side. I know you will be proud of them when you see them again someday..._

 _..._ "Ow, my neck... I am getting too old for this".

= = = = = = = = = = End of Chapter = = = = = = = = = =

Good 'insertTimeOfDay' Readers, and Thank you for your purchase of this Chapter of Aureate Bastion. You spent your hard earned time reading this (time **is** money after all), so I hope you enjoyed it. I don't own any part of the Naruto Franchise, I only own what comes out of my own mind... for what it's worth.

This is the Zero Chapter. The Prologue. It doesn't really tell you a lot about the story or where I intend to take it from here though. So, I'll use this section here to give it a better description then. Please bear with this admittedly overbearing chunk of Author Drivel from here down. It's not important to the story, just a little 'get-to-know-you' talk regarding the story I plan to write and my writing style. Skip it if you want.

Okay, let's start with plot things. In this story I have replaced two characters with Original Characters. If that is enough to turn you away, good bye and have a nice life. If not, allow me to explain further.

Firstly, Naruto, everyone's favourite protagonist (boy does **he** get around on this website). I have gender swapped him! Gone he is in my story, and return he shall not, in any capacity. Minato and Kushina's one and only child was born female, and was given a female name to go with it (Naruto is not a name you use for a girl, just no). This is why the story has the Naruko.U character tag.

The other original character, the boy introduced in this chapter... Well, I don't want to spoil it yet. I will say however, that it is another member of the Konoha Rookie 12 that he will replace. And it will likely be guessable after chapter 1 who exactly it is that he has replaced. Likely.

Continuing on from those two changes, I have added supporting OCs and changed some history to help include my new characters into the Naruto storyline. Mostly I changed things for the sake of added drama between characters later on. You'll have to wait and see for specifics though.

Apart from those specific changes, and any organic deviations that follow from them, I will keep as much of the original Naruto story as I can. Big things like the Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru, The Akatsuki, Madara, etc... all that stuff will still happen. It will definitely happen differently than in cannon, but changing a few characters won't stop those people from working towards their goals. The fun is in seeing how it deviates in my opinion. Little things will mostly all be different though. I will try my best to make it fresh... when I actually get to the cannon start, that is. Gotta build the world a bit yet.

Universe mechanics next. When you read almost any fictional series, you build up your own internal understanding of how the mechanics of the author's universe works. It is pretty much NEVER going to be exactly like the original author sees it in their mind (I'm assuming you haven't used ESP to read their mind that is), and that's okay. In my story I tried to create the mechanics of the universe in a way that fits with the original cannon material. I couldn't do it though, the original is just **too** loose and flip-flopity for my tastes, so I changed some things and tightened it all up. So I warn you now, when characters in my story describe how their world works, it may not align with how you see it. I only ask that you don't write it off because it doesn't show things working how you envisioned them working in your mind. Maybe you might even come to like how I see it, you never know.

That's about all for story stuff, technical writing things now if you're still here.

In case you weren't aware, I am writing this in first person, present tense. Please ping me if you see I have deviated from that POV at any point in time in my writing. I will correct it. I do all my own planning, proof-reading, and post-proofing analysis, so please forgive me if I miss a thing or two here and there. Literature is an art, and I do pride myself on my English skills. However, I am only Human.

The POV will change around during the course of the story. With hopefully all the main characters getting a chance to let you inside their minds at some point in time. Because of this format though, you will have to put up with having a narrator with varying levels of reliability. Some characters will be less knowledgeable or less observant than others, and that should show in how they narrate the story. I chose this format so the story would hopefully feel more personal, yet with the multiple different POVs it will give you a varied view of the events. From the myriad of POVs, you the reader will be able to choose which one you want to believe and which view you want to accept as the 'truth'. Though, as with reality, no **one** person's view is an absolute truth.

I think that's about it for now. If you have stuck around through all that, you have my most sincere gratitude, and I hope you enjoy the story I lay out for you. Chapter 1 is done and will be put up not long after this one is. I wouldn't leave you with only this prologue for too long. Expect the next chapter to be longer than this though. Much longer.

I'll be back soon.

Magnanimous_Z


	2. Bronze Beginnings - Chapter 1

Aureate Bastion - Bronze Beginnings - Chapter 1

 _Stupid Iruka-sensei. Stupid detention. Stupid Iruka-sensei. This is the third day now, ya know!_

I curse the stupid teacher in my head as I follow him down the hallway at the academy.

 _I didn't mean for that sparkler under his desk to make anything catch on fire. Why'd he have to give me a week of after class detention... Stupid Iruka-sensei._

Iruka-sensei stops at the door to the detention room and looks at me.

"Come on now. Your hour of detention starts once you take your seat remember." He says as he slides the door open.

From inside the room I hear a voice and I step closer to see who it is. Another teacher, I think. I've seen him around here before, but I don't remember. He's dressed the same as Iruka, but looks really plain.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei, how are you?" The other teacher greets Iruka as he walks in. "What brings you here tod... oh... Uzumaki, detention too I see."

The other teacher cuts his greeting short and eyes me oddly as I walk in.

 _Urgh, why do adults look at me like that, damn it. I didn't put sparklers under his desk. Maybe I should! Or maybe a snake, or some bugs in his desk drawers._

"Good afternoon Kurono-sensei" Iruka-sensei greets the man nicely. "Yes, I have this one here every day for a week because of the sparkler incident. What brings you here today?"

I finally notice that there's another person in the room. I turn to see who it is.

 _Hmmm, that guy looks familiar. I know I've seen him around the academy and the village. Don't know him though, must be in another class._

"You're not the only one with problem students Iruka." The other teacher responds. "This student of mine is consistently late to class, or skips class entirely sometimes. It's driving me crazy! So, he's in here reading his history text book as punishment today."

The other teacher gestures to the guy sitting behind a desk in the middle row of the room. He looks about my age and is slouching over the middle of the desk with a book in front of him. Doesn't look like he's reading it though; he's looking at me instead. The guy has dark hair that's almost black, but I can see some dark violet colour in it. His hair is just long enough to be tied back behind his head, with some bangs hanging around his face near his...

 _Silver eyes... like, not gray, actually silver... that's where I've seen him! One time, he was being picked on by the bullies a few years older than me, but he kicked their butts and they ran off... Why's he staring at me now though?_

"Hey! What are you looking at?" I ask him. He sits up at his desk, before talking back to me.

"A noisy Red-Head girl, it seems." He... _What!_

"HEY! What's that s'posed to mean?" I yell back.

"Hey! Be quiet both of you." The other teacher cuts in. "This is detention! No talking to each other. Just sit down and serve your punishment time. Geez!"

"What? But he_" I start but.

"Narumi!" Iruka-sensei cuts me off, by calling my name. "Don't start arguing with people here, please. Just take a seat there in the front row."

I shut my mouth and move to sit down. I sit on the side of the first row desk. The room is small and only has one group of three, row long desks. I think it'd fit, what, 9 kids at most?

 _Stupid other teacher. Stupid Silver-eyed jerk. I don't want to sit near him, but this room is small and he's in the middle of it. I don't want the jerk behind me, but I'll do what Iruka-sensei asks for now, ya know._

I glance back at the guy behind me.

 _... The jerk is still staring at me!_

I turn back to the front, away from the jerk; I start twirling some of my hair in my fingers to help myself ignore him. The other teacher starts to talk with Iruka-sensei again.

"You know, I am seeing a definite correlation between difficult, low-scoring students and delinquency here." The man starts. "This punk is the lowest scoring student in his year group."

 _Heh, so the stupid jerk is_ _ **actually**_ _stupid. Heheh, I bet he's a lame excuse for a shinobi! He looks like it._

I snicker in my head at the jerk, as the other teacher pauses to look in the jerk's direction for a bit before continuing.

"The worst part about it though; the part that frustrates me the most" The man says. "Is that, while his overall grade is the lowest, he isn't actually failing."

"I don't understand Kurono-sensei. Isn't that a good thing?" Iruka-sensei asks the guy. "If your lowset scoring student is still passing, then don't you have a class full of capable students? Isn't that something to be proud of?"

The other teacher looks at Iruka-sensei for a moment before answering.

"We just did the first practice graduation exam and the kid is failing all the theoretical classes, and the practical classes on Chakra, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu too." The teacher says like he's annoyed, but it's making me want to laugh. "He is supposed to graduate from this academy in a year, but it just feels wrong to allow a student who can't use any jutsu to become a Genin."

 _The jerk is on his last year here? So he is a year ahead of me, but he still sucks so much! Pfft! I can't take it any more..._

"Haa ha haa! This guy really is a crappy shinobi then. Hehhehe." I start laughing at how badly the jerk sucks. "I mean, he must be if he can't even do something simple like the Transformation jutsu, ya know!"

The other teacher frowns at me, but doesn't say anything. Iruka-sensei though...

"NARUMI!" He yells at me. "You of all people have no right to belittle other students' abilities."

"...Huh?" I ask, as I stop myself from laughing any more. Iruka-sensei continues though.

"You, little miss, are not much better." He says... _. wait, what does he mean?_

"Your skill with the Transformation jutsu is laughable at best, and you can't even perform the basic Clone jutsu at all. Not to mention, all your other skills are sorely lacking." He says, flatly. "You will be up for graduation yourself two years from now, but at the rate you're going now you won't earn enough points to pass."

 _What is Iruka-sensei talking about!? I'm awesome, and I'm going to be a super awesome shinobi when I graduate. I just know it!_

"This girl is your worst student too, right Iruka-sensei?" The other teacher asks. "It seems we both have failures in our classes. Though, at least your failure is actually failing."

"Well, I wouldn't say that Narumi is a fai_" Iruka-sensei starts saying something, but I slam my hand down on the desk and shout out my protest.

"What the Crap!?" I yell at the two teachers. "Don't go comparing me to this jerk! I'm a super awesome shinobi, and someday I'm going to be Hokage. I'll be the first kunoichi to be Hokage ever, ya know! And when I do become Hokage, I'm gonna make you all apologize to me."

The other jerk teacher stares at me, looking like he doesn't believe me at all. Iruka-sensei just sighs and looks exacerbated. I take a look behind me at the stupid jerk. He is looking at me with wide eyes, like he is shocked or something. I quickly turn back around and sit down.

"It is good to see that you are confident Narumi" Iruka-sensei says. "But if you want to become Hokage someday you should probably start studying properly and put in some serious practice."

"Hmph!" Is my response, as I cross my arms in front of me.

 _Stupid Iruka-sensei. I do study, and I do train a lot, ya know... It's just that studying is so boring, and it's hard to train properly without anyone to help me out!_

"That goes for you too." The other teacher says while pointing at the jerk behind me. "You had better start taking this more seriously and actually produce some results in those classes you're failing. If you don't, then at the end of this academy year I'll have to make a recommendation to the Hokage to not allow you to graduate, regardless of your overall score!"

"Aww, don't be like that Kurono-sensei" the jerk behind me says. I turn my head to look back at him. He has his elbow on the desk and his chin resting on a curled fist, smiling as he continues. "I thought you'd want to get me out this academy as fast as you can. So, just let me happily become a genin and we can both move on with our lives!"

The other teacher lets out a long sigh.

"Just go back to reading your textbook, and be quiet." He says, before looking at the clock on the wall. "OH I forgot, it's time. Damn! Iruka-sensei, could you do me a favour and keep an eye on my trouble maker for the rest of the hour? I have an appointment to get to in 20 mins. Is that okay?"

"Yes, I don't mind Kurono-sensei." Iruka-sensei responds. "I'll keep an eye on these two. You can go do what you have to."

"Thanks Iruka-sensei. I'll buy you a beer next time, okay?" The guy says as he starts walking out. "Oh, and if he starts causing trouble feel free to assign him any extra homework. I'll make sure he hands it in to you."

The jerk behind me scoffs.

"I will do Kurono-sensei" Iruka-sensei says. _I bet Iruka-sensei would do it too._ "Take care, and I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"Cheers Iruka. I'll catch you tomorrow." The other teacher says as he walks out of the room. Leaving the room in dead silence for a while.

 _Stupid jerk teacher and stupid Iruka-sensei, they don't take me seriously. Damn it! Why do none of them take me seriously. I'm gonna be the best Hokage the world has ever seen, ya know!_

"Iruka-sensei!" I call out to my teacher, getting his attention. "What should I be doing here for the next hour? Please don't make me sit here doing nothing again. It drove me crazy yesterday to sit down doing nothing for an hour."

"Hmmm... You have a few options then." He starts, a smirk coming onto his face. _Oh crap._ "You can either sit there without saying or doing anything for an hour like yesterday. Or you can do some reading like your fellow student here, and I'll quiz you on what you read after 40 minutes. And like yesterday, if you don't take this detention seriously I'll add on another day."

 _Urgh! Iruka-sensei is such a... such a jerk sometimes. Well, at least he doesn't treat me any differently like the other teachers and adults do, ya know. He's still annoying though._

"Well?" Iruka asks. "What are you going to choose to do Narumi?"

"I'll... I'll sit quietly" I respond, giving in for now. No way am I going to read a text book for that long.

"Good!" Iruka-sensei smiles and moves off to the side of the room.

"Heh" I hear the jerk behind me laugh a bit and I turn back to glare at him. He smiles and puts his hands up like he is surrendering, then raises his book up to block his stupid face from view. I turn back to the front and place my head down on the desk, ready to wait out the hour. Iruka-sensei has pulled a chair out from somewhere and is now sitting at the front of the room.

"Alright you two." he begins. "Your hour has started. No talking, okay? Just sit there and reflect on why you're both here."

 _Maaaan! This_ _ **sucks**_ _!... I'll go and do some more training after this is over, I just have to bear it for now. Once this is over I can leave and be rid of the jerk behind me. Yeah! Bring it ON! This hour will be over in no time!_

* * *

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

 _This has got to be the longest hour in the history of time! I'm so glad it'll be over soon!_

Iruka-sensei at the front of the room looks back at the clock on the wall, just as the hour ticks over.

"Alright you two." He says as he stands up. "Your detention time is up. Thank you both for remaining quiet, I know that was especially difficult for **you** Narumi."

"Damn right it was!" I respond as I stand up and flip over the desk. "I am getting outta here as fast as I can."

I look back at the jerk guy to see how he is doing.

 _Now he's_ _ **really**_ _staring at me! What is this jerk's problem? Every time I look back he's been glancing at me over the top of his book. Urgh, I am sooo outa here, ya know!_

I turn to the door and start to walk out.

"Don't forget Narumi." Iruka-sensei says as I walk out. "You have a few more days of this left yet. You too, please think of taking your classes more seriously. Kurono-sensei is_"

I don't hear the rest of what Iruka-sensei says to the jerk as I start running as soon as I get into the hallway. I run to the stairs and leap down the first flight; turn then leap down the rest to get to the ground floor. I run through the empty hallway straight to the door to outside. I jump out the door and cheer for my freedom.

"Yahoo!" I yell. "Freedom!"

I run toward the school gate to enter the village, but a person standing at the gate causes me to skid to a stop.

 _Whaa... how is the jerk here?_

"How did you get here before me?" I point at him and ask "I left before you and ran down here! And what do you want standing in my way like this?"

 _If he wants a fight, then I'm ready! I'll kick his ass, ya know!_

He just stands there looking straight at me with his silver eyes. His serous face looks weird with his plain clothes; a light brown long sleeve shirt, long dark grey pants and black shinobi sandals.

 _Damn, he is only a year older than me, but he is way bigger than I am... Argh! That doesn't matter! I won't let this jerk or anyone beat me! I just need t__

"Narumi Uzumaki." He calls out to me, breaking my thoughts off. "My name is Zen, and I want to ask if you are serious about what you said earlier."

"Huh" _What is he talking about_? "What do you mean? Serious about what?"

"About being Hokage!" Is his response. "I want to know if you're serious about becoming the Hokage."

He doesn't move. He just keeps his silver eyes locked straight onto mine.

 _This jerk! If he just wants to tease me about my dream, then screw him! I'm not gonna back down because he is older and bigger than me._

"Of course I'm serious!" I raise my voice to answer him. "I don't' care what you or the others say! I don't care what the teachers or the other adults say! Someday I am going to be the Hokage! I'll be the strongest Hokage the village has ever seen, and then everyone will acknowledge me, ya know!"

His only response it to grin at me. So I get right up close, grab his shirt, and pull him down so we're face-to-face.

"What!?" I say to the now surprised jerk, as I glare up at him. "You think I can't do it, huh?"

His expression softens as he grabs my hand holding his shirt, he doesn't grip my hand very hard though.

"I never said that." He says, still looking into my eyes. "I only wanted to ask if you were serious, or were just saying that to annoy the teachers."

 _Huh... maybe he isn't a total jerk. So, what does he want then?_

"Hmph!" I respond as I let go of his shirt and step back. "Being Hokage **isn't** something to joke about. I'm always serious about that, ya know!"

"I see." He says, before a small smile appears on his face. "Though I have to admit, you have some strength there... for a shorty like you that is."

 _Nope! He is a jerk for sure!_

"Hey. I'm not a shorty!" I yell back at the jerk.

His only response is to raise both his eyebrows as he moves his hand from above my head to his chest, to show our height difference.

"Shut up!" I respond. "I don't care how big you are. I'll still kick your butt easily!"

"Oh really?" He grins, and I swear I saw his silver eyes glint or something. He then backs up a few steps.

 _So, he_ _ **is**_ _going to fight me then. Bring it on then jerk!_

I get ready to fight him, but instead he points at me and talks instead. His next words freeze my thoughts.

"Alright. I'll accept you as Hokage!" He says...

 _Wha... what?_

"On one condition though." He continues, grinning even more than before. "We'll play a game. A game where you have to catch me! If you can catch me then I'll acknowledge you as my future Hokage."

"Whahuh?" Is all I can say. "Game!? What are you talking about?"

"It's simple." He says. "I'll dodge, and you have to try to catch me. Well, landing a good hard hit on me should suffice too, but I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"And why should I play your stupid game?" I ask, still confused. "Why should I care about **you** acknowledging me?"

To that he just turns around and walks a few step away from me.

"Hey. I'm not going to force you." He says, with his back to me. "If you don't think you can catch me that's fine. I guess you're just a shorty with more bark than bite after all."

 _Ooohh! That's it! I'm gonna hit this jerk so hard he'll cry! I'm not gonna let him get away with making fun of me anymore. If he wants to play this game then BRING IT ON, YA KNOW!_

With his back still turned I quickly leap at him. Ready to punch him right in the middle of his back.

 _Eat this ya jer_ehh... whaat?_

He moved to the side, making my punch miss, leaving me to land and skid past him. I spin back to look at him; his silver eyes staring me down as he grins at me.

"Good." He says, still grinning. "A real shinobi makes use of all opportunities to strike. You will have to do better than that if you want to catch me though!"

"Heh. Just you wait jerk." I say, as I grin back at him. "I'll smack that grin off your face and make you acknowledge me, ya know!"

"Hoh? Game on then shorty!" Is his annoying response.

"Rraahhh!" I yell as I leap at him again. And miss again. "Shut up, and let me hit you!"

I dash at him and start swinging. Left, right, left, right; each one misses by a wide amount as he moves out of the way. I go for another right punch, which he dodges by moving more to my right again; but this time I follow with a spinning back kick using my left leg.

 _Argh, I still missed. This guy is starting to really annoy me._

"Ohh, not bad." He says, before he jumps backward high into the air, doing a backflip and landing on a nearby building.

 _Show-off..._

"Hey! Why're you running away?" I shout out to him. "You're the one who challenged me, but now you're scared are ya?"

"I didn't ask for a sparring match." He says, grinning down at me. "I said to catch me remember. This is essentially a game of Tag, and you're it. So, unless you feel like admitting defeat you'd better up your game and come after me."

He then holds both him arms out wide at his sides; a 'come get me' pose, or something.

"Ohhhhh, it's **on** ya Jerk!" I say as I glare up at him. "Don't think you can get away from me now."

I reach inward for my chakra; I'll need it to catch him.

 _Feel the pulse of my chakra deep inside, then pull on it. Pull it out towards my body; into my arms and legs. Fill myself with its power and use it to strengthen me. Just like I practised!_

I quickly feel my muscles tightening from the increased amount of chakra that now rushes through me. I keep my eyes on the jerk, as I bend my legs a bit. He lowers his arms and starts stepping back away from the edge of the building.

"Yeah, you **better** run!" I say, then I leap high into the air towards him. "Cause when I catch you I'm gonna make you apologize for making fun of me!"

He jumps back, still grinning, turns in the air, and starts to run away from me. I land on the roof where he was and push off with my chakra enhanced legs to chase after him. As I move to chase him I realize that I'm smiling.

 _This might actually be fun! Well, smacking the jerk in the face will be fun. Heh, he'd better prepare himself to lose, cause no one gets away from Narumi Uzumaki, ya know!_

* * *

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

*sigh*

 _Almost over now. Then I can let these two go for the day._

In front of me in the small classroom are two academy students whose detention is almost over. My little problem student Narumi Uzumaki, and another student, a boy a year older than Narumi. They are both training to become shinobi, though it may not look it at first glance.

With Narumi being the opposite of subtle, wearing an orange short sleeve zip up jacket over a dark blue long sleeve shirt, a short pleated orange skirt that only reaches halfway to her knees, and blue standard shinobi sandals. Her bright blue eyes and crimson hair tied up into two pigtails at the sides of her head, combined with her rather short stature make her appear cute rather than intimidating.

The boy on the other hand seems to be dressed in a plainer manner, with just a loose, light brown long sleeve shirt, long gray pants and black standard shinobi sandals. He is quite tall for his age though. While Narumi is short for a 10-year-old girl at 132 cm tall, the boy is well over 150 cm tall. He doesn't appear scrawny, instead he appears to have a solid build from what I can see; the plain clothes manage to hide it well though. With his size, along with his long dark violet hair tied back and his silver eyes, he might cut an imposing image to the other kids, if not for his seemingly laid back attitude, and poor grades.

 _Zen, I believe his name is. I wonder if these two have met before. Narumi can be confrontational with people she doesn't know, and who she thinks are looking down on her. It didn't help that the boy spent a lot of his time here staring at her. I hope this doesn't turn into an argument later. Or worse; a fight._

I turn around to the front of the room and look back at the clock on the wall, just as the hour ticks over.

 _Time up. Alright, lets end this for today._

"Alright you two" I say, as stand up and stretch my back a bit. "Your detention time is up. Thank you both for remaining quiet, I know that was especially difficult for **you** Narumi."

 _She usually has no patience for this type of thing, but add on the presence of the boy here and I am surprised she hasn't bolted out yet. I guess she really didn't want to add any extra days._

"Damn right it was!" Narumi says as she stands up and flips over her desk to land in front of me. "I am getting outta here as fast as I can."

I can see the boy sit up straighter too, though he seems surprised by Narumi's jump over the desk.

 _Ahhh... I wish she would be more aware that she is a girl... wearing a skirt... I'll bet she just flashed him with that flip._

Narumi looks back at the boy to see him staring at her. She scowls at him, while he looks back at her somewhat intensely compared to earlier.

 _I swear he looked... disappointed if anything there. I should probably talk to the boy before he leaves about trying to not agitate Narumi._

Narumi turns to the door and starts to walk out.

 _Ah, I better remind her about tomorrow before she leaves too._

"Don't forget Narumi." I call out to her, increasing the volume of my voice as she doesn't stop to listen. "You have a few more days of this left yet."

I hear her footsteps trailing off down the hallway.

 _And, there she goes. Well, I should probably say something to the boy too._

I look back at him to see he has quickly packed away the book he was supposed to be reading, and is moving around from behind the desks.

"You too, please think of taking your classes more seriously." I say to the boy as he moves to look out the open window at the front side of the room. "Kurono-sensei is concerned about your progress. It could be dangerous to enter the life of a shinobi if you are unable to perform basic Ninjutsu or Genjutsu."

 _I just wish Kurono-sensei would be more open with showing his concern for his students. He has been teaching here for more than 15 years now I believe, and he has been a strict man as long as I've known him. But I know he does care about his students._

"It's fine Iruka-sensei!" The boy says, not even looking back as he... as he starts climbing out the window. "I am fully prepared to accept the consequences of my life choices. **How** -ever, I have a meeting to make now, so I'll see you around some other time I guess."

He gives me a simple wave good-bye as he quickly launches himself off the outside of the building. I quickly dash to the window too, in time to see his feet make contact with the tree across from the building and quickly launch himself from there toward the front gate to the academy grounds. He lands and skids into place right next to the gate. After standing up straight and dusting himself off, he then proceeds to stand directly in front of the gateway.

 _What is he up to, standing there like he's waiting for... Is he waiting for Narumi?_

Just as that thought crosses my mind I hear a voice from downstairs.

"Yahoo! Freedom!" I hear what is obviously Narumi being loud as usual, as she runs out from the building towards the gate.

 _Oh, this could be bad! Should I jump down and diffuse the situation? No. The boy didn't appear to be looking for any kind of conflict... but, I don't really know him, so I can't say for sure._

I watch as Narumi runs toward the gate, only to skid to a stop not far from it as she spots the boy waiting there for her.

 _I'll stay here and observe for now, but if a fight breaks out I will break it up._

I focus my senses to try hear what they say, though for Narumi that isn't really necessary considering her default volume in these situations.

"How did you get here before me?" She says rather loudly, while pointing her left finger at the boy in front of her. "I left before you and ran down here! And what do you want standing in my way like this?"

The boy doesn't move or respond for a moment. He eventually speaks up though; not as loud as Narumi, but I can still hear his words.

"Narumi Uzumaki." He calls out. "My name is Zen, and I want to ask if you are serious about what you said earlier."

"Huh" Is Narumi's eloquent response. "What do you mean? Serious about what?"

 _Is he asking about her laughing at him and mocking his skills? Or is this about__

"About being Hokage!" He clarifies for the girl. "I want to know if you're serious about becoming the Hokage."

 _So, it was about that. He did seem surprised when she declared it loudly back here in the classroom earlier. I would be surprised if that was the first time he's heard that from her though; it's not like it's the first time she has said that out loud around here._

His words seem to have stunned Narumi, as neither of the two kids move or say anything for a while. Though Narumi quickly gets her wits back and responds loud and clear to him.

"Of course I'm serious!" She declares. The volume of her voice easily carrying her words to my ears. "I don't' care what you or the others say! I don't care what the teachers or the other adults say! Someday I am going to be the Hokage! I'll be the strongest Hokage the village has ever seen, and then everyone will acknowledge me, ya know!"

 _... Narumi. That is an admirable dream you have there, and I do try to encourage you where I can. It is a shame that so many others in the village can't look past the nine-tails incident, to see the hard-working and surprisingly optimistic girl that you are._

I am surprised, and also worried when – after a short pause in the conversation – Narumi steps right up close to the boy, grabs his shirt, and pulls him down so they're face-to-face.

 _Okay! I may need to jump down and intervene soon if this gets any more heated._

"What!? You think I can't do it, huh?" Narumi says to the boy as she holds tightly onto his shirt and glares at him up close.

The boy doesn't appear to be taking her as hostile yet, as he slowly grabs Narumi's hand which is holding his shirt.

 _He seems more surprised than offended, I think._

"I never said that." He says quietly, though I can just hear him from this distance. "I only wanted to ask if you were serious, or were just saying that to annoy the teachers."

 _No. I do believe she is serious about that being her dream._

She lets out a humph and releases his shirt, before stepping back. "Being Hokage **isn't** something to joke about. I'm always serious about that, ya know!"

 _... I wish her grades and attitude in class reflected her seriousness._

"I see." The boy says with what looks to me like a genuine smile... that slowly turns into a grin as he continues. "Though I have to admit, you have some strength there... for a shorty like you that is."

 _*sigh* Is he picking a fight here or not?_

"Hey. I'm not a shorty!" Narumi yells back at him. Though his response of using his hand to visually display their difference in height only serves to further irritate her.

"Shut up!" She predictably shouts back. "I don't care how big you are. I'll still kick your butt easily!"

 _Now_ _ **Narumi**_ _appears to be trying to pick a fight. She needs to learn some self-control, that girl._

"Oh really?" The boy responds as he backs up a few steps.

 _Damn, this looks like it really will turn into a fight then! Here I go._

I see Narumi move to prepare to engage the boy in combat, the boy himself however, doesn't move any further, giving me pause in my actions. Instead he points at Narumi and says something that I'd never expect. Something that leaves me quite speechless for a moment.

"Alright. I'll accept you as Hokage!" He says. It seems Narumi wasn't expecting this either as she freezes up.

 _Okay! Though I can't see her face from here, I can hazard a guess that her expression now is likely one of incomprehension. What is this boy doing?_

"On one condition though. We'll play a game. A game where you have to catch me!" He continues, lowering his hands to place them on his hips. "If you can catch me then I'll acknowledge you as my future Hokage."

 _Where is he going with this? What does he stand to gain from this kind of encouragement?_

"Whahuh?" Is all Narumi can say in response it seems. She steps back a bit, as she continues. "Game!? What are you talking about?"

 _Yes. Explain this to us! If you're just out to tease or humiliate Narumi, then I'll have to stop you here and now._

"It's simple. I'll dodge, and you have to try to catch me." The boy says. "Well, landing a good hard hit on me should suffice too, but I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"And why should I play your stupid game? Why should I care about **you** acknowledging me?" Narumi asks back, having seemingly regained some of her composure.

In response the boy simply turns around 180 degrees and walks a few step away from Narumi.

"Hey. I'm not going to force you." He says, with his back to her. "If you don't think you can catch me that's fine. I guess you're just a shorty with more bark than bite after all."

 _He is just pushing her buttons now. He is provoking her into accepting his challenge. I'm not going to let either of them out of my sight now, not before... and there goes Narumi._

With his back still turned to her, Narumi quickly leaps at the boy; her left fist held back for a punch, aimed at the boy's unguarded back. Surprisingly enough though, he manages to dodge her attack by moving to his left. Narumi's sneak attack misses by a large margin, leaving her to land and skid past the boy. She quickly turns around to stare him down though.

"Good. A real shinobi makes use of all opportunities to strike." The boy says, quite truthfully I might add. I think I see him smile as he continues. "You will have to do better than that if you want to catch me though!"

"Heh. Just you wait jerk." Narumi responds, and I think I see her smiling too. "I'll smack that grin off your face and make you acknowledge me, ya know!"

 _Well, they both seem to be enjoying themselves a little too much for me to image it turning ugly. Maybe I'll stay back, for now._

"Hoh? Game on then shorty!" The boy retorts, obviously trying to rile Narumi up.

 _And it looks like it is working too... a short temper, she most definitely has._

"Rraahhh!" I hear her yell as she leaps at the boy again, and clearly misses again. "Shut up, and let me hit you!"

Narumi dashes at the boy and engages him in taijutsu... or what I would like to call taijutsu, but her unarmed combat skills are sorely lacking.

 _I should see if I can arrange for her to get some extra taijutsu instruction, as she clearly isn't picking it up like the other students are._

She continues to swing her fists at the boy in an easily readable pattern. With each strike the boy moves smoothly and swiftly out of her range causing her attacks to miss by a

wide amount each time.

 _The boy on the other hand is clearly no slouch in the actual combat department. He appears to be calmly observing Narumi's movements and moving with surprising grace to avoid her strikes._

I watch her go for another strike with her right hand. The boy dodges it smoothly again, but this time Narumi flows through the movement continuing into a spinning back kick using her left leg.

 _Not a bad move Narumi. It's not enough though. The boy is still easily staying ahead of you._

"Ohh, not bad." The boy says, before leaps backward, executing a rather graceful high backflip and landing on the roof of a nearby building. He stands close to the edge with his hands on his hips looking down at Narumi.

 _What is he planning now? From there he has a high ground advantage, and can intercept Narumi easily if she jumps at him._

"Hey! Why're you running away?" Narumi shouts up at the boy. "You're the one who challenged me, but now you're scared are ya?"

 _A brash loud-mouthed little girl and a smug boy posing openly on a rooftop... are these two really shinobi trainees?_

"I didn't ask for a sparring match. I said to catch me remember." I think the boy says; it's harder to hear now that he is further away. "This is essentially a game of Tag, and you're it. So, unless you feel like admitting defeat you'd better up your game and come after me."

 _There he goes provoking Narumi again. He's even throwing his arms out in a challenging pose too... He's kind of laying it on a bit thick now, isn't he?_

"Ohhhhh, it's **on** ya Jerk! Don't think you can get away from me now." Narumi shouts back at him.

 _And obviously she responds in exactly the way I think he is trying to get her to respond!_

I can see her concentrating as she lowers her stance to jump at the boy. In response he lowers his arms and starts stepping back away from the edge of the building.

"Yeah, you **better** run!" Narumi calls out to him, then leaps up to the roof of the building. "Cause when I catch you I'm gonna make you apologize for making fun of me!"

The boy jumps back from his position before Narumi lands in the same spot. While in mid jump he turns about-face and starts to quickly dash away as soon as he lands. Narumi, also on the roof now, pushes hard with her legs to take off after the fleeing boy. Her leap to initiate her chase loosens a tile from the building's roof, which slides off and shatters on the ground.

 _Well... there they both go._

I think to myself as I twist my body out the window, to stand out on the wall; acting almost instinctually to adhere my feet to the vertical surface with my chakra. I leap forward and down to the academy gate. I walk forward to give the two kids chase, but a voice from behind me halts my movement.

"You don't need to follow them Iruka." The person says; a person whose voice I'd recognise anywhere. I quickly turn to face the man.

"Hokage-sama? You were watching too?" I ask him, as the leader of my village steps out from behind the academy building. He walks towards me slowly, but with an assured gait.

"Indeed I was Iruka" He says as he stops beside me, a gentle smile adorning his aged face as usual. "Which is why I don't think you need to follow them."

"But, Hokage-sama, what if it turns into a fight?" I ask him in response. "The boy is clearly more capable than Narumi. I don't want her getting hurt."

 _I am a little worried for Narumi. That boy was clearly provoking her into following him, but to what end?_

"Iruka, they are two children playing a game of tag" The Hokage says, with a gentle expression on his face. "I don't believe that Zen has any bad intentions towards Narumi. I think he just want to get to know her."

 _Get to know her? By provoking her into that silly challenge?_

"Are you sure Hokage-sama?" I ask, as I look back in the direction that the two students ran off in. "The boy was provoking Narumi. And to say that he'll support her as Hokage, is he serious about that? I have to wonder what he's trying to accomplish here."

I don't get an immediate response, so I look back at the Hokage. He too is looking in the direction of the two students.

"I am not sure about it, nor do I know why he said what he said." He responds with, before he turns back to face me. "But I have faith in them. That is the duty of us old people after all; to pass on our wisdom, and believe that the children will act with our words in their minds, and in their hearts."

 _... Hokage-sama is right. Narumi is an important student to me, I am here to teach her, not here to keep her from experiencing life. Regardless of how this turns out I need to let her go through with it for herself._

"I understand Hokage-sama." I respond to the old leader. "As a teacher it is my job to pass on knowledge and guide my students; to prepare them for life, not to shield them from it."

 _I am still worried about Narumi though..._

"Very good Iruka. You've become a fine teacher I see." The Hokage praises me with a smile on his face. "You've done a good job with looking after Narumi and the other students."

 _It always means a lot to me to receive praise from the Hokage. But still, I wish..._

"Well, I don't **feel** like I have done my best Hokage-sama." I start to tell him, a little unsure of myself. "I would have liked to be more supportive with Narumi; she is somewhat like I was as a child, trying to get attention because she feels alone. If Narumi was a boy I could have been closer to her, but being a girl there are limits to how much she will listen to me. Not to mention it isn't really appropriate for a grown man to spend his time hanging around a small girl."

 _Narumi needs more female role models in her life. I know she talks with Teuchi-san's daughter often, but she would benefit from having contact with a good kunoichi too._

"It's okay Iruka, I understand." Hokage-sama replies, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I too wish I could be there more for Narumi, but at my age simply fulfilling my duty as Hokage is as much as I can handle. Don't think that you haven't done enough for her; when I do get time to talk to her she says that you are an annoying teacher, but a good one since you treat her fairly."

 _*sigh* It is a sad affair to be labelled a good teacher simply for being fair to a student. It disappoints me that the other staff would be so unprofessional as to give less effort into teaching Narumi than any other student, simply because they are uncomfortable, or have grudges._

"Do not worry too much Iruka." Hokage-sama says as he lets go of my shoulder; a soft smile showing on his aged face as he looks back in the direction the students took off in again. "Those two are good kids, and if they do become friends I am sure they both will benefit from it. They both need a good friend. Narumi's fiery attitude should help brighten up Zen's life and she could learn something from him."

 _I hope she doesn't learn how to fail anymore of her classes..._

"That is something that concerned me Hokage-sama." I state, gaining the man's attention. "I spoke to Kurono-sensei and he said that the boy is failing many of his classes at the academy. Do you think it is wise to let them influence each other? I wouldn't want their grades to slip any further into the red; Narumi is already failing, and the boy is_"

 _Wait... According to Kurono-sensei, the boy is failing all the Theoretical Classes, and the practical Chakra, practical Ninjutsu, and practical Genjutsu classes... How is the boy still passing when failing more than half his classes?_

"Iruka?" The Hokage calls to me, questioning my break in conversation.

"Sorry Hokage-sama." I reply after a brief pause. "It just occurred to me that if what Kurono-sensei said is true and the boy is failing over half of his classes, how is he still passing? Do you know Hokage-sama? Have you seen the results from the first run of practice graduation exams for this year's graduating students?"

The Hokage looks around us for a moment before answering my question.

"Yes I have Iruka." He starts, now with a stern expression on his face and looking directly into my eyes. "Indeed, young Zen is sitting at about 35% overall for the theory exams, and got less than 10% on each of the Chakra, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu practical exams."

 _35% for theory, and_ _ **less**_ _than 10% for those three practical classes... The only way he could still be passing would be__

"Conversely," The Hokage continues, his face shifting into a smile, interrupting my thoughts and confirming my suspicions. "Zen's Physical Conditioning is the best in his year, along with tying for the top spots in both the Taijutsu and sparring exams. Together with the weapon skills and mock mission exams where he scored more than 80%, he is both 'just passing' and 'excelling' at the same time."

 _I thought I remembered Kurono-sensei mentioning a Hyūga prodigy in his class. For this boy to be tying for top spots against a Hyūga is definitely impressive. I can imagine why Kurono-sensei is frustrated; to have a student with this much potential sitting so close to failing._

"That is quite surprising to hear Hokage-sama." I respond to him, after taking a moment to digest his words.

"Both of his parents died on the same night that yours did Iruka." The Hokage starts, shocking me with his statement. "But if you knew the boy's father then you wouldn't be very surprised by Zen's results."

 _An... An orphan of the Nine-Tails. Another one like Narumi and me... I really hope that the boy doesn't know about Narumi's secret; that would put a whole different spin on the situation that just happened!_

"Hokage-sama!" I call to the aged leader, getting his attention. "Does the boy know about Narumi? About what happened 10 years ago?"

The Hokage's expression tightens up as he shifts his gaze back to the direction the students ran off in again.

"I don't think so Iruka." He responds, still looking into the distance. "Zen is aware that the Nine-Tails is responsible for what happened 10 years ago, but as far as I know he believes the same story about it that the other children do; that the fourth Hokage defeated the beast, in return for his life."

 _I hope you are right Hokage-sama... I really do!_

The Hokage turns back to me, a smile on his face now; one that I almost feel like describing as a 'sly' smile.

"Well if you are that worried Iruka..." He starts, as he turns his attention back to me. "feel free to go after them to see how it plays out for yourself. However, spending your personal time hiding and spying on children playing... I might just have to reconsider your position as a teacher at the academy."

 _Wha... what is he?_

"Ho - Hokage-sama?!" I sputter indignantly. "That's not what I... I mean, I only want to..."

"Relax Iruka. I'm only joking with you!" He says as he chuckles at me. "As I said earlier, I don't think Zen has any ill intentions towards Narumi. He is just a young boy who doesn't have any experience making friends, and is approaching a fellow struggling orphan in what is likely the best way he can think of. You don't need to keep watch over them, they will be alright on their own. They are shinobi after all; even if just trainees."

*sigh* I try to put my worries aside for now and look back in the direction the kids ran off in.

 _I guess I'll believe in what Hokage-sama says for now. I guess she could use a friend her own age... I just hope she doesn't get too angry at chasing the boy down, since it seems likely that she won't catch him any time soon..._

 _... I could really use that beer Kurono-sensei promised me right about now._

* * *

"Haaah... haaah... haah" I breathe heavily, as I dash again at the jerk and aim another punch at his annoying face. "Hrraaaagh!"

He shifts to the side again and hops backward, still facing me and lands in the middle of the clearing we're standing in. We're in the forest now surrounded by trees, and the sun is starting to get really low.

 _Arrrgh! I missed AGAIN! I've been at this for like ages now and I can't get him. Every time he easily moves out of the way. Even the couple of times I came close to grabbing him, he was near a pole or a tree I didn't see and managed to whip his hand out to grab something and pull himself out of the way really quick. Also... this is the first time someone has been able to keep going as long as I can. We're both breathing heavily, but I think we could keep going at this for ages still. I feel all sweaty, and I want to go home and have a bath, but there's no way I am going to give up now._

"Haaah, just... haah, just give up now... haah, jerk." I say to him, in between breaths. "If you give up now, haaah... I promise to only hit you **once** in the face, ya know!"

"Haah...you're not very persuasive." He says in between breaths, with a deadpan look on his face. "Haah... you know that, right."

I just glare at him as I take the time to recover my breathing. The jerk crosses his arms in front of him and regains his breath too.

"Well, maybe I'd listen to you if you weren't wearing those boring spats under your skirt. *sigh*" He says while slowly shaking his head, like he's disappointed.

 _... Ah. That's right. I need to kick this pervert jerk a lot for that! Looking up my skirt and having the nerve to say how disappointed he is at what I'm wearing... Boys hurt a lot when they get kicked in the dick, right?_

"Hmph! Pervert Jerk!" I grumble back at him.

 _I hate to admit it, but this jerk is pretty good. I'm gonna have to try something trickier if I want to get him. I tried grabbing him while he was in the air, but there was always stuff for him to grab onto and move out of the way... Hmmm, but we're in the middle of a clearing now, nothing near us to grab onto. I should try it again now! Yeah. I'll throw some rocks at him to keep him where I want him and then rush him to get him to jump away. When he does, I'll jump after him and get him in mid-air where he can't dodge me... That should work!_

There's about 10 meters between us. I take a couple deep breaths to ready myself, before I dash at the jerk again. While moving I scoop up a good sized rock in each hand and look back up at the jerk; he is eyeing me calmly as he readies himself to move. When I'm close enough I throw both the rocks at him. Each one passes by him, missing him but stopping him from moving sideways as I rush him.

 _Now jump back!_

The jerk plays to my plan and jumps backward to get away from me. He jumped back but not too high off the ground. I grin as I use a chakra enhanced leap to jump at him; my right leg moving up to kick him when I am close enough.

"Got ya now jer_eeehh!" I start to yell, but I'm startled when his body quickly goes down and he slams back first into the ground. Leaving me to sail over him; missing him entirely. Again.

I land and skid forward a bit before I quickly spin around to face him. I probably have a shocked or confused look on my face as I see him do a fancy spin to bet back on his feet; looking back at me with a grin.

 _What just happened? He moved while in mid-air..._

"Whaa... how did you do that?" I point at him and ask, a frown on my face now. "You were in the air. How'd you stop like that."

"Situational Awareness." He says back to me. "You were smart to try that in the middle of a clearing with nothing around us. But there's more to the environment than what is to the sides. You also need to look above us!"

He moves his arm up and points dramatically at the sky. I look up... and I don't see anything. Nothing but sky and maybe some leaves moving in the wind.

"I don't see anything!" I tell him, a bit angry at not getting it. "What happened? There's nothing there!"

"Ha Ha... of course not. I was joking." He says sheepishly, before clearing his throat.

I clench my fist reeaally tightly in front of me and give him my best death glare as I imagine choking the jerk.

"Nothing important at the moment, no. But down here there is." The stupid jerk says as he steps back a bit and puts his foot down on a_

 _Is that... a tree root sticking out of the ground? I didn't see it there. Did he use that to stop himself in mid jump?_

"A tree root... sticking out." I say, still a bit in shock. "Did you know that was there? Is that why you didn't jump high backward?"

"Yep!" He says back, cheerily. "It hurt my heels to catch them on that root after jumping back that hard, but it worked to arrest my movement and let you sail uselessly over me."

I just look at him, not quite ready to accept this outcome.

"Though I have to say." He continues, with cheeky smile on his face. "Those dark blue spats you're wearing with the orange stripes down the sides of your thighs are starting to grow on me after all the times you've shown me them today."

 _Damn, embarrassing, pervert,_ _ **jerk**_ _... Who cares anymore. I just want to kick him in the face and call it a day already._

"Aww. Well, now that I've seen you blush, I think it's time." The jerk says as grins at me

 _I sooo didn't blush you jerk!_

He then turns around and rolls his shoulders around a couple times.

"I think I've had enough running around for one afternoon." He says with his back to me. "Time to call it a day I say. We can pick this up again tomorrow after class, if you don't want to admit defeat that is."

 _Wha... Is he just gonna walk away... DON'T MESS WITH ME!... I'm finishing this today or I'll collapse trying!_

I can feel my chakra coursing through my body, like it has been since this game started.

 _It's not enough! I need to pull out more chakra..._

"Well, it's been fun Narumi." He says as he starts walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow. That is, unless you_!"

I pull on my chakra again. Cramming more of it into my body. I feel something in my tummy pinch a bit in pain, but I ignore it and charge at the jerk again. Faster this time. No punches. No kicks. I just rush at him, and dive at his body with my arms out to grab him.

"Hey Naru_Whoa!" He turns around quickly, and jumps backward right when I am about to grab him.

 _Damn, he so fast! But it's not over...no_

I bring my left hand up and point my index finger right at the jerk's face.

"It's not over yet jerk!" I say with a big grin on my face now, teeth showing and all. "The only way you're walking away from here today is after I get you back for running me around all afternoon. So if **you** wanna quit then just stand there and take it, cause I'm **not** gonna stop till I have you in my hands and I make you accept me as Hokage, Ya Know!"

The jerk seems shocked by me or something as he just stands there, giving me a look I can't read. Then he simply turns around quickly and_

"Whaa..." I mutter. _The jerk is running away!_ "Jerkface! Get back here!"

I dash after him. I run as fast as my sore and tired legs will take me. At this speed the trees around me almost blur into one in the darkening forest. It doesn't seem to be enough though.

 _Damn it! Even pushing my chakra and my legs harder than I have before, he is still leaving me behind. This guy is... wait, what is that up ahead?... Oh crap, that's..._

The trees thin out and I can see a big hole in the ground is ahead of us; a small canyon that I think I've seen before. One that stretches from left to right really far. I look forward at the jerk.

 _He's not stopping! Doesn't he know that canyon is wider than we can jump and is really deep!_

"Hey stop!" I yell at the jerk, but he doesn't stop. "STOOOOP!"

I start to slow down and skid to a stop. The jerk doesn't stop though; he keeps running towards the edge. I look on in horror as he reaches the edge and jumps... He jumps hard and fast, but I still don't think he'll make it across.

 _Noooo! That stupid jeeerrrk!_

My horror quickly turns to awe, as he twists his body around in mid-leap. Bringing his legs up, twisting at his middle and kicking his legs out forward again... Whatever he did seems to have worked as he goes further forward than I thought he would.

 _No way...he made it..._

I stand and stare as he lands close to the edge of the other side and rolls on the ground for a bit before skidding in a crouch and stopping, facing back at me. He is breathing hard, but he stands up and looks back at me. He looks down at the canyon he cleared, then back up at me.

"Ohh. Wow. I almost thought I wasn't going to make that one." He says, then he relaxes and sits down on the ground. "So, ready to call it a day now?"

 _He... He... He..._

I glare at him and stomp over to the edge of the canyon then take a deep breath.

"You Jerk!" I yell over the gap at him. "I thought you were gonna fall! Don't go showing off with dangerous stuff like that! I don't wanna have to drag you out of this pit if you fall in, ya know!"

He looks shocked from me yelling at him and doesn't say anything for a moment.

"I... I'm sorry." He says, as he grips the front of his shirt with his right hand and looks away from me. "I... didn't think it would... worry you like that. I've done that jump before... albeit, not after this much running around, but I was okay with it... I'm sorry, I didn't consider what you might think running behind me."

"Hmph!" I cross my arms in front of me and glare at him. "You're sorry?"

 _The jerk is apologizing to me? Why now is he getting all sorry and stuff? Jerk. He's not anywhere near sorry enough yet. Not until I get over there and make him sorry, ya know!_

I look around for a way across. The canyon is deep and I can barely see the bottom with the sun going down now. I can still make out lots of rocks and tree roots sticking out in there, but nothing useful. I look left and right. Trees line the edges of the canyon, some of them are huge too. I_

 _THERE! Are those vines hanging from the trees? They are overhanging the canyon, and I bet I could use them to swing across to the other side. Yes! I have it now. Just you_ _ **wait**_ _jerk. When I get over there I'm gonna smack you so hard you won't be able to show that stupid grin on your face for a week!_

A grin forms on my face as I look back at the jerk.

"Well I don't think you're sorry enough." I say to him as I start backing away from the canyon. "So, just wait there. I'm gonna make you even more sorry yet, ya know!"

I quickly move to my right where I saw the vines.

"Wha... Narumi, what are you going to do?" The jerk asks me, but I don't pay any attention to him now. I think he might sound worried though.

I spot the vines again and back up so I can build up more speed.

"Narumi! Don't try and jump over here. You won't make it!" He calls out.

 _Heh, you just watch me ya jerk. I'll be over there in no time to kick your ass._ _ **Double**_ _for doubting me._

I pull on my chakra again and feel pain in my body.

 _Ouch! That's probably from pushing more chakra into me than I should have. It doesn't matter though; I just have to get over there!_

With my chakra churning again I dash at the canyon, keeping my eyes on the edge and the vines.

"Narumi STOP!" The jerk yells out, but I still ignore him and jump when I reach the edge.

 _Yeah! Now the vines._

I reach out for the dark green and brown ropey parts hanging down before me. I feel their rough shapes in my hands and grab on tight.

 _GOT EM! Now I just swing down to the other side and start pounding on the jerk!_

I feel myself reach the top of my jump and start to fall. I hold on tight to the vines in my hand as I feel them go tight and swing me toward the other side of the canyon. I feel myself going down as I approach the other side. But... Something's not right.

 _Eh... I'm falling to quickly... and I'm not going close enough to the other side. W-wha..._

My eyes widen and I grip the vines tighter in my hand, but they aren't slipping at all. I look up quickly, and I feel like my heart stops. I'm falling with the vines now; they are ripping away from the trees above me...they aren't holding me at all.

 _Whaa... I'm going to... I'm falling... But... no... No I don't want to fall! I don't want to die. I haven't been made Hokage yet! I haven't become a shinobi. I haven't made any friends. I haven't been... Haven't been accepted by everyone yet..._

I look forward but now I am falling past the ground level and into the canyon. I let go of the vines and instinctually take a deep breath, close my eyes... and start to scream.

"HHYAAAAAAAAA_OOOF!" My scream is cut off though by something slamming into me, hard.

The impact causes me to fly back and slam into the inside edge of the canyon that I just jumped from. But... I don't hit rocks.

"Ghuuh!" "Grh!" I hit something else and the air is forced out of me.

I only stop for a moment though. I feel myself falling down again. The thing I hit is falling with me. I can't scream this time since I have no air in me. I don't have time to scream either, as not long afterward I am sent hurling forward. Still down, but forward to the other canyon wall. Again I don't hit it. Instead the thing with me takes the impact.

"Hrgk!" That's not my voice... and I think I feel arms.

 _Am I... being held by someone?_

I risk opening my eyes. I feel myself falling again, but this time I am pushed to the right and start falling straight down the middle of the canyon. I shut my eyes again expecting the worse. The arms I feel around me tighten as we quickly hit the rough ground and roll along it. The rough ground scrapes at my legs and back, but the person holding me shields my head and holds me tight.

 _Wh..who?_

We stop rolling. I take the chance to suck in a deep breath of air, but I don't move. I stay lying face down with my eyes closed.

 _It... it hurts... but I'm alive. I'm still alive. I can still be Hokage... I can still... I can..._

I feel fabric under me and I grip it in my hands. I'm not on the ground. I can feel what's under me moving. Up and down... like breathing.

 _I was saved. But who... why did... why would someone save__

"Ahhhhgh, damn, haah... That stings." A gentle voice cuts off my thoughts. "Ouch... Are you okay? Narumi?"

I open my eyes to look up at the person's face. His head is resting back on the ground so all I can see from here is his chin. I go to sit up and notice his arms are still holding me, but they give way and fall to his sides. I grip his light brown shirt in both my hands as I push myself to up enough to see his face, all the while I can feel his chest moving under my hands as he breathes hard. He is looking directly up, but his silver eyes quickly move down to stare into mine.

"That was a stupid move... you pulled there." He says. The pained look on his face shifting into a half-smile. "Swinging on vines... You're not a monkey you know."

He... he...

"Why?" I ask him in a shaky voice. "You're just a jerk who wants to mess with me. Why did you jump in after me? Why did you save me? Why did you cover me from the rocks and the fall? Why did you play around with me all afternoon?! WHY DID YOU EVEN TALK TO ME TODAY!?"

After shouting the last part at him I pause to catch my breath. He doesn't respond for a while either, just looks into my eyes.

"It doesn't matter how much fun it is to mess with you." He starts. "I'd never just stand around and watch you die!"

 _What?_

"It's not like I am not involved in this." He continues to stare into my eyes as he speaks softly to me. "I am partially to blame since I challenged you like I did. I just didn't think you'd respond like this. I have to say, I'm quite surprised."

"You did provoke me. Calling me shorty, and showing off." I say back, as I look down at his chest where I am still gripping his shirt. "Saying that you'd... that you'd... Why did you say that you'd accept me as Hokage? What stupid joke are you pulling here to say stuff like that to me, ya know?"

"It wasn't a joke!" He says, causing me to look back up at his face, where he is staring back at me. He continues after a short pause. "... I had heard about a kid who was failing the academy classes, but said they'd be Hokage one day. I heard of a vandal girl who would paint the village bright colours, but said she was going to be the first female Hokage. I heard people talk about a kid who they didn't want around them, but who would yell about becoming the best Hokage ever. I found out that they were all the same person, and I had to know if this was all true. I wanted to meet you then. I wanted to know how serious you are. Then I met you in detention today and heard it from you directly."

 _He wanted to meet me? But I..._

He doesn't move, but keeps staring intently into my eyes as he continues.

"A struggling academy student, like me." He says, now fully smiling up at me. "A girl who paints the village and has managed to piss off a lot of people... And she wants to be the Hokage... That is just way too amusing to ignore. So if you could show me that you were worth it, I would show you my support and accept you as my future Hokage!"

"But...I..." I start, unsure of what to say. "Why would you start believing me just from this?"

 _No one ever really believes me when I say I will be Hokage. But... will he believe me just like that?_

I feel a bit of hope at having someone actually support me.

"You're the kind of person who can get away with painting the village bright colours." He says with a grin. "Also, you were able to keep up with me like this all afternoon, and finish with that crazy vine swing move. I think I'd like to see a Hokage like that. So, as long as you keep at this goal, I guess you have my support... Miss Future Hokage."

 _Just because of that... Just from this he'd sup-support me as Hokage. Wait, what about his challenge?_

"Huh?" I ask confused, as I look down at him. "Wha... Why are you... but I thought I had to catch you before you'd... I... I didn't lay a finger on you no matter what I tried. Are you looking down on me or something?"

I ask the last part harshly, I think. I'm still trying to get my head around what's happening.

"I'm not playing you or anything Narumi." He says back with a frown on his face now. "And what do you mean by didn't lay a finger on me?"

He looks down at his body. My eyes follow where he's looking.

"You already have a firm hold of me." He says, a smile back on his face again. "Not to mention you've been straddling my waist for quite a while now. "

My eyes widen and I know I can feel myself blushing a bit...

"You worried about me when you thought I was in danger. You pulled that crazy stunt, and forced me to jump in after you." He says, grinning up at me. "Now you've got me in both your hands and your legs. In my book, that counts as a win."

I stare down at him with a blank look.

 _Stupid Jerk... Stupid pervert jerk... Still, if he's telling the truth then... then I_ _ **finally**_ _have a person who thinks I can do it. I finally have a fr_... Oh wait, does this make us..._

"Say. Um, Zin, was it?" I ask him, a bit nervously. I fidget a bit because this is sorta a first for me.

"Um, my name is **Zen**... but yes, what's up?" He says back in a flat voice. "And stop moving around on me, there's something sharp sticking into my lower back."

"Oh! Sorry. I'll get off you now." I say back to him.

I move off to his side and onto the ground. I wince a bit when I move though, since my legs have scrapes on them that are bleeding a bit. He sits up slowly, wincing himself as he goes.

"Ow... owowow. That's definitely going to sting a lot later on" He complains as he rubs his back.

"So... Zen. I, um... wanna ask." I start to say, but I haven't asked anyone this before, so I am really nervous. "Does this... I mean, are we... are we going to be friends now?"

Zen stops rubbing his back, and looks at me. He just looks at me for a moment before he says_

"No."

His denial stops me and I look at his face. He closes his eyes, slowly shakes his head, and sighs. My hands grip the front of my skirt tightly as I look down at my lap now.

 _Huh... He... Wait, what? We're not friends? But__

"We're not going to become friends **now**." He continues, cutting off my thoughts. "We were friends **before** I jumped down here."

"... Huh?" Is all I can say to him, as I look back up at him, my eyes open wide.

"What? There's no way I'd have taken that fall for someone who **wasn't** my friend" Zen says as he goes back to rubbing his back, wincing as he does.

 _So... we're_ _ **already**_ _friends... I have a friend now. A friend who accepts me. Who actually_ _ **wants**_ _me to be Hokage someday. This is..._

Once it hits me I can't keep the smile off my face. I grin at him full force now.

"Friends! Right. Yeah." I can't stop grinning now. "I guess, thanks then, for saving me. I promise I'll pay you back for it."

Zen finishes with his back and straightens himself out. Then he looks back at me; his face looks like he is thinking about something though.

"Right..." He says back, then he looks away from me. "Well. This might sound a bit weird after what I said before, but... Why exactly do you want to become Hokage anyway? It's not really a position that just anyone aspires to reach."

 _He wants to know why... What do I say? I said it was so that I could get people to acknowledge me, and make them realize how awesome I am, but... do I tell him how people ignore me, and don't seem to like me? What if he stops being my friend and ignores me too...?_

I guess my face shows that I don't know what to say, as Zen speaks up instead.

"I don't' have any other friends." He says in a soft voice, as he looks up at the darkening sky. "The other kids stay away from me because I kick their butts, or because they think I'm weird, or... because their parents tell them to not play with me."

 _That's... kinda like me... I'm not weird though._

"If we're gonna be friends then you're probably going to find out sometime. So, you might as well hear it from me now." He pauses for a bit, then he looks down at his lap before he continues. "My... my family were traitors."

"Wha... what does that mean?" I ask him, not believing it. "Traitors? As in... bad guys..."

"Yeah..." Zen responds, his voice harsh and his face in a frown now. "All of them. They were spies from another village. My parents and grandparents too. They pretended to be shinobi or civilians here, but they were sending secrets out to another village. Their spying even got some leaf shinobi killed back in the last war."

"That's... I... don't know what to say." I look at Zen wide eyed as he balls his hands into tight fists. "Were they arrested? Are they in jail, and is that why people keep their kids away from you?"

"Yeah. Some People know about it and don't trust me around their kids I guess." He says, as he relaxes a bit. "They're not in jail though. They're all dead. The Nine-Tails killed them all 10 years ago. That's actually how they were found out. With their home damaged and none of them alive to protect their secrets it wasn't hard for people to piece together the evidence."

 _That's the same time my parents died... that's also my..._

"I was only a one-year-old at the time, so I don't remember anything about it, or about them." Zen continues, sounding sad now. "But some people are still angry about it even now. People shun me, and kids who know, tease me about it. I was even attacked once, about 10 months ago, by people who wanted revenge on my family. It put me in the hospital for a while."

"That's horrible!" I say to him, angry at the people who'd do that. "You didn't do anything, and yet... and yet they treat you badly too."

"Yeah... But that's why I want to become a shinobi." Zen says, as he stares back at me with determination. "I want to prove to everyone here that they can trust me. That I'm not a traitor like my family was. That the Leaf village is my home and I won't betray it!"

I think his silver eyes shine, even in the dark canyon we're sitting in.

 _He's_ _ **is**_ _kinda like me... He wants to prove himself to the villagers, and get them to accept him._

After hearing that, I can't stop myself from talking about my life too.

"I can kinda understand what you're saying." I say, as look down at the ground in front of me. "My parents died on the same day when the Nine-Tails attacked, and I've been pretty much by myself for as long as I can remember."

He doesn't look away from me as I talk. As I let out my inner feelings...

"I... for as long as I can remember... pretty much all the grown-ups in the village have... have hated me or something." I struggle to say, as I've never really talked about this to someone else before. "They don't say mean things to me, or hurt me. They just... It's just the way they look at me. Like they don't want to have to see me or something!"

 _They all have such cold looks in their eyes when they look at me..._

"They all seem tense around me, and look away when I pass by them!" I say, a bit upset now. "They keep their kids away from me, and ignore me when I'm around. I started painting stuff on the walls to get them to look at me, but they just get angry and ignore me more! And... and when they think I can't hear them, they talk about me! They say stuff like why am I just wandering around, or why am I allowed to play in the same parks as other kids!"

 _What did I do to them? Why do I deserve this? Were my parent traitors too or something?_

"Iruka-sensei, and the people at Ichiraku are some of the few who don't treat me like a pest." I say, with more strength now. "Grandpa Hokage, too. He comes to visit me sometimes and is real nice to me. That's when I noticed that everyone respects him, and looks up to him. I was told that the Hokage was the best shinobi in the village, and everyone looks up to him. That's why I decided that I'd become Hokage too. So that everyone in the village would be forced to acknowledge me, and no one would treat me like a pest anymore! I'd be the first female Hokage in history, and I'd be the best of them all, ya know!"

 _No one would look down on me if I was the best Hokage ever! But..._

"But, no one believes I can do it." I say, as I calm down a bit now that I've said all that. "Grandpa Hokage and Iruka-sensei both said it was a good goal to have, but even they probably don't actually think I can do it. When I said it in detention today that other sensei totally didn't believe me and even Iruka-sensei just looked exacerbated when I said it... Is it really such a stupid dream... for someone like me to have?"

I look to Zen. He just lets out a short laugh at me and responds in teasing voice.

"Yeah it is probably a stupid dream" He says, as he smiles as me teasingly. "Oh, and 'exacerbated' is the wrong word there. You probably wanted 'exasperated'."

"Wha... I knew that, jerk. You didn't_Hey!" I say back now confused "What do you mean it's stupid. I thought you were gonna support me as Hokage. You liar!"

 _This jerk Zen. He just keeps messin with me. Geeze! I don't know if I want to be his friend or not... Stupid Jerk._

"A Dead-Last, failing academy student wants to be Hokage!" He says, still smiling at me. "That probably sounds stupid to everyone who hears it. But **that** is why it is a good dream for someone like you to have! Here, let me show you something."

He gets up a bit and moves over to sit next to me. Then he lies down flat on the ground, wincing as he does, and looks up.

"Here. Lie down next to me and look up." He pulls on the back of my jacket and I wobble backwards, before I use my arms to lower myself to lie next to him. I glare at him for a bit before he continues. "Look up and tell me what you see."

I look up as he asked me to. The sky is pretty dark now.

 _What is this about? What do I see? It is dark now, I can even see some stars behind the clouds..._

"Hmm, I can see the clouds and some stars." I reply to him. "I can also see the trees that are growing around this canyon we're in. So... what am I s'posed to be seeing here?"

"... Right now we are academy students, failing students to be precise." He says, making me frown and wonder where he's going with this. "We're at the bottom of the ladder now, and even becoming **real** shinobi is still a fair way away for us. We're lying at the bottom of this big ditch, and up there at the top of the canyon, is where being real shinobi is. We're not there yet, but it is not that far away from us."

 _So we have to climb out of this ditch to be real shinobi?_

"But that's **not** the end." He continues. "There's more, right. Even when we become real shinobi, there's still all the old, tall trees that are above us, casting us in their shadows. Those are higher rank shinobi; people who are at a level even **farther** away than the top of the canyon. The journey from the dirt we're lying on now to the top of those trees is going to be a long and difficult climb. However, it is a climb I plan on making, regardless of how many people tell me I can't do it using only my bare hands."

 _It does look far away, when I see it from down here. But why is he telling me this?_ _ **What**_ _is he trying to say?_

I go to ask him but he continues talking, cutting me off.

"But for **you** Narumi, it doesn't stop there. Past the tops of the trees, past the mountains, and past the birds. The clouds you see in the sky; they are where it means to be Hokage." He says. I can feel the seriousness in his voice, but I keep looking up. " **That's** where you're aiming Narumi; for the clouds all the way up in the sky. **That's** how much farther away your end goal is from where we are now."

 _... That's kinda depressing; seeing how far away my goal is. Is he trying to tell me it is impossible, or it will always be a dream or something?_

"Is it really that far away?" I ask softly, not really feeling energetic about it all now. "Is it even possible for... for someone like me to make it all the way up there? Can a failure lying in a ditch really reach the clouds?"

"I don't know." Is Zen's reply. Not the one I wanted to hear. "Whether you can make it that high is all up to you..."

I close my eyes, not wanting to look at it anymore. I feel heavy thinking about it. My thoughts are broken by Zen on my left grabbing my hand in his. I open my eyes and turn my head to look at him, but he is still looking up at the sky.

"What I **do** know though..." He says with strength in his voice. "Is that right now, you and I are in the **best** position to reach those impossible heights!"

 _Huh? Us... in the best place to... What?_

"Right now we are lying in the dirt at the rock bottom of our lives. There is only **one** way for us to go from here." He grins widely as he raises my arm up with his, pointing to the sky above us. My eyes follow the movement to look up at the dark sky sparkling with a couple of stars.

"UP!" He calls out. "The only way for us to go now is **up**! Upward to the top of the canyon, the top of the trees, and beyond! We'll explode up out of this hole and keep climbing up, faster and faster. Eventually we'll reach the heights of our dreams! And **then**... and then, well I have no Idea."

I turn my head to look back at Zen next to me, as he puts my arm back down.

"You started good, but finished weak." I say to him, with a grin on my face too now.

"Hey. I don't plan **that** far ahead." He says back, still smiling up at the sky. "Besides. It's hard to plan that stuff, when all I can see from here is dirt, trees, and stars."

 _Well, I guess I haven't thought about what I'll do after I become Hokage either... I guess I can think about it later though._

"Well... I think I've had just about enough of sitting in this hole. Time to call it a day." Zen says as he sits up and goes to stand.

When he does though I get a look at his back. I can see tears in his shirt, surrounded by dark coloured_

"Whaa! Zen you're hurt! You're bleeding." I quickly get up and look at his back. It is hard to see in the dark, but it looks like he has a few injuries from the fall...

 _... from when he saved me..._

He moves a hand to his back to feel one of the insured spots, while I panic a bit behind him.

"Yeah... It's not too bad, but I probably should head to the hospital to get it disinfected and fixed up." He says calmly and turns to face me, but I'm not sure about it. "I'll be okay Narumi, what about you. That last fall must've hurt, right."

"... I'm fine, I just had some scrapes and those will heal in no time." I say back as I eye him wearily. "Well, if you're sure you'll be okay Zen, then I guess it is fine. Just don't make it worse or anything. I don't want it to be **my** fault if you get an inflection of something."

Zen smiles at my words and simply turns around and starts walking.

"Heh. Right, well let's get moving then." He says, smiling. I step up next to him as we walk. "I wouldn't want to get an ' **infection** ' now would I?"

"Hmph!" I pout and look away from him when he points out another word mistake I made.

 _I'm Narumi Uzumaki! It's not like I spend time reading the dictionary or anything... If anything Zen sounds like a nerd sometimes... Stupid Zen_ wait..._

I quickly look back at Zen and ask him something that I just thought about.

"Hey Zen. What is your family name?" I ask him.

He stops walking and looks at me for a moment with a blank look on his face, then he turns his eyes away from me.

 _Oh... that's right he probably doesn't like talking about his family. Stupid me!_

"Ah, I'm sorry Zen" I quickly apologize. "I didn't mean to ask_"

"Ryūsei..." He cuts me off.

"... Huh?" I ask him, confused by what he said. He... He actually looks embarrassed now too.

"... That's my family name." He says, with a slight blush on his face, I think. "...My name is Zen Ryūsei."

 _... Ryūsei... Zen Ryūsei... But that's..._

"Wa-wait...does that mean 'dragon' something?" I ask, trying to supress my reaction.

"...No." He says back, still looking away from me.

 _So... it really does mean..._

I can't help it now and I start laughing a bit.

"So, your name actually **is** that then?" I say grinning at the pouty look on his face. "Heh hahaha. Zen Meteor! Your name is Meteor. That's so flashy! It sounds like someone wanted to be cooler than they really are, ya know!"

"Aaagh. Yeah, laugh it up." He says back to me, smiling once again. "I'm surprised you knew another word with more than 1 kanji in it... *sigh* Let's keep going before I lose any more blood."

He starts walking again. I laugh a bit more before I catch up with him again.

"Hehe. So, where are we going?" I ask him. "Shouldn't we jump out of this canyon and head back?"

"This path will lead us back to the village." He says back to me.

"It does? How do you know?" I turn to him to see what he says. He smiles, as he replies.

"This isn't the first time I've been down here." He admits. "I told you I'd made that jump before. Well, I have also **not** made that jump before too."

"Wow. So you've picked yourself out of here a few times already huh." I ask as we continue to walk. "How much time do you spend in this forest anyway? I swear you knew where we were going the whole time."

"Well yeah." He says back. "I usually spend all my free time playing around or training by myself here in the forest. Been doing it for years now, so I know this place quite well."

"Ooh... Well, um... I guess, now that we're friends..." I start saying as I twirl some of my red hair in my fingers. I'm still a bit shy with this stuff. "Maybe... Maybe I could hang out with you too... You know, so we can train together and both become awesome shinobi, ya know!... And maybe play together too."

I glance over to Zen as he keeps walking next to me. I look up to see a small smile show on his face.

"Hmm. Yeah, I think that'd be cool." He says, as he looks down towards me. "I **do** think we both need the extra training."

 _... Jerk..._

"Also..." He looks forward again and smiles as he continues. "It'd be nice to play with a friend instead of by myself for a change."

I smile too and look forward.

"Yeah! That sounds fun!" I say. "... So, how long till we get back... I'm really hungry. Hey, you'll treat a friend to some food, right?"

"You're on your own there Swirly." He says. "It the Hospital for me. You can feed yourself."

"Geh. Stingy." I say back, smiling as I walk back to the village with my first friend.

 _I'll get him to treat me some other time I guess... Hopefully I'll have lots more chances to get him to treat me to some ramen... Lots more chances from now on. Yeah._

= = = = = = = = = = End of Chapter = = = = = = = = = =

Good 'insertTimeOfDay' Readers, and Thank you for your purchase of this Chapter of Aureate Bastion. You spent your hard earned time reading this (time **is** money after all), so I hope you enjoyed it. I don't own any part of the Naruto Franchise, I only own what comes out of my own mind... for what it's worth.

Well. The 'True' first chapter is now done and dusted. I hope you feel that it has shown you enough to get a good understanding of my writing style. Mostly drama here, now that I look at it, I like a bit of drama though. I generally enjoy writing action scenes more, though there wasn't much of that in this chapter I guess. More to come, I promise.

Now for some points on style. English is my native language, but I do know Japanese as well. However, I will attempt to use as little Japanese as possible, in terms of names of things and terminology. Terms like Genin, Hokage, ANBU will remain as they are, but Jutsu will all be English.

Names of characters will still be Japanese and I have already come up with kanji for all my Original Character's names. I spent hours researching those names and translating kanji to get them so I will definitely include the kanji at some point in time.

Then there's my use of honorifics and titles, I understand them well, and intend to use them. If they confuse you, then it's the perfect time to learn something!

Feel free to ask me about any words or terminology I use that you don't understand. Or, be independent and look it up yourself. I think it is more fun to find things out yourself, but there are a lot of incorrect resources out there, so be careful what you take as fact. Too often I have seen people confidently use incorrect Japanese in their fics, and it completely derails my sense of immersion when I hit them (like a slap in the face).

OK. So, in terms of frequency of updates... I can't promise anything. I write slowly, and double check my stuff every so often. I also work full time to support myself, and have a myriad of other hobbies. However, I do enjoy doing this and will endeavour to put a decent amount of my week into crafting this work. So, look out for chapter 2 where we'll see more of the characters learning their trade and interacting with the wider cast.

I'll be back...maybe soon.

Magnanimous_Z


	3. Bronze Beginnings - Chapter 2

Aureate Bastion - Bronze Beginnings - Chapter 2

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

Ten throws. Eight perfect shots and two nearly dead-centre hits.

"Very well done! Amazing job, as usual." Kurono-sensei praises me with a smile. "You even hit the moving targets almost perfectly, I'm impressed. Please retrieve the shuriken for the next student and step back to the safe area."

I accept the teacher's praise with a nod in his direction as I walk to the targets to pick the bladed weapons out of the wooden constructs.

"She's such a show-off!"

"I know. She thinks she's **so** good."

 _I can hear you, you know. Learn to whisper_ _ **quietly**_ _. Annoying cows... they should focus on their own skills instead of badmouthing me._

"Alright. The next student for throwing is..." Kurono-sensei calls out, looking down at a clipboard in his hands. "Haruka Karasaki. Please step forward and take the practice shuriken."

The girl whose name was called steps up and I hand her the shuriken I retrieved. Once she has them all I move back to my spot on the side of the group of students and sit down on the ground. The girl next to me gives me a thumbs up.

"Nice work! You got all of them again." She says, her brown eyes showing the genuine praise she has for me. "At this rate you'll be the top kunoichi for our year group at graduation time!"

"Thanks Mimi." I tell her with a smile. "You did well too today."

 _At least not all the girls in this class are annoying cows._

"Hehe. I only hit six of the targets." She responds bashfully as she pulls gently on a few strands of her shoulder length black hair. "I've got a long way to go before I am as good as you or some of the boys."

"You're doing much better than last year though." I respond to her, trying to encourage her. "I know you'll blow the next exam out of the water, for sure."

"Thanks, but I'm not so sure." Mimi responds, looking over to the girl about to throw. "I'm not that good at this stuff, even though I try pretty hard."

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

I too turn to look at the girl who just threw the shuriken... and missed five out of ten targets. Kurono-sensei looks a little disappointed, but he smiles while he gives the girl pointers to improve.

 _We've been practising our weapon throwing skills for more than_ _ **three**_ _years now, and there are still people who struggle to miss_ _ **less**_ _than half the time._

"I wouldn't worry if I were you Mimi." I tell her, as I look back at her and whisper my next words. "You're **much** better than some of the girls in our class, and they're still passing. So keep at it and you'll be fine."

"Aww, thanks!" Mimi says as she gives me a big smile.

We both look back to the front as the next student is called. My turn is over, and sitting and watching the others is kind of boring, but it gives me time to think.

 _We're already in our last year at this academy; the final point before we become actual shinobi._

I glance at the rest of the class. They're either waiting for their turn, watching those who are taking their turn, or are just chatting to each other.

 _Each year more and more people have dropped out, till the two or three classes of students we had in the first year has been reduced to the one class we have now._

I turn back to the front, but I look down at the ground in front of me; ignoring whoever it is that is now taking their turn to throw.

 _The first three years were easy; mostly general knowledge and theory stuff, with a bit of physical training and getting us able to feel and use our chakra. Those parts were the basic course. The second three years – or the advanced course – those are the where we really got into the difficult stuff. Sparring, actually using Ninjutsu, experiencing Genjutsu, and practicing stealth and trap making. Those are the type of things we started doing two years ago, and this year we've even started doing mock missions, which are both fun and scary at the same time._

I shift myself around a bit, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.

 _When we fail a mock mission we get bad marks. In a real mission though... people die if we fail... we can die if we fail. When I think about that I can understand why people would give up and drop out. People like Mimi, who's kunoichi mother retired, married a baker and now they all live peacefully running their bakery; she has something to fall back on if she decides to walk away from this... I don't. I lost my family years ago. I have no family business to fall back on. Being a kunoichi is all I have..._

My grip on my knees tightens a bit, as I keep my gaze on the ground in front of me. I feel a grin spreading on my face though.

 _That's okay, I don't need anything else. The last 5 years have been a challenge, and after this year we'll be genin... but I don't_ _ **care**_ _! I am going to be a great shinobi; a great_ _ **kunoichi**_ _. Like the great Tsunade-sama did, I'm going to prove that a kunoichi can be just as dangerous and powerful as any man can be! I'm going to be a kunoichi that other girls can look up to, and let the boys see that__

"Hey Tenten!" Mimi nudges me and calls out my name, breaking my train of thought and drawing my attention. "Look. The Mud Boy is going to have his turn now. Check it out."

I look back up to the front where a boy from our class is about to have his turn throwing the shuriken. His long gray pants and black long sleeved shirt hang loosely on his tall form. His back is to us as he stands holding the 10 shuriken, ready to start. Kurono-sensei, standing off to the right, calls out to the boy.

"Alright Zen. When I give you the signal you throw the shuriken at the seven targets there now." Kurono-sensei says to the boy, in a flat tone. "A moment after you throw I will pull on the rope to move the last three targets. Same as last time, got it?"

"Too easy, sensei." The boy says in the casual way of speaking he almost always uses. "I am ready to begin whenever you are!"

The boy brings his arms around in front of him to the opposite sides of his body. Kurono-sensei stares flatly at the boy for a moment before sighing, and raising his left arm up; his right holding the rope.

"Alright. Go!" The teacher says, as he throws his left arm down to signal the boy to start.

The boy swings his right arm out letting four shuriken go, almost simultaneously following up by doing the same movement with his left arm, throwing three more shuriken.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

All seven hit; half even hit dead centre on the targets.

 _Not bad. But..._

The last three targets have sprung out, moving in different directions; Kurono-sensei having pulled the rope a moment ago. The boy however, pauses a bit too long before throwing the last three shuriken. They fly well, but all three miss the moving targets.

 _I think I saw him wince a bit or something, I'm not sure. His shuriken technique is still pretty good though._

"Your form was good, as usual Zen." The teacher must agree with me as he appraises the boy's result. "However, you missed the timing on the last three. What happened?"

"Ahh. Haha, yeah. I managed to hurt myself a bit yesterday out in the forest." Is the embarrassed response the boy gives. "The nurses at the hospital patched me up, but it still hurts a bit."

"*sigh* Please take better care of yourself Zen." The teacher sighs and says wearily. "Your grades are low enough as they are. Don't let your grades in one of the few classes you **are** passing, slip as well."

"Aww. Thanks for worrying about me sensei." The boy says back cheerily, casing Kurono-sensei to roll his eyes. "But if I took **too** good care of myself I'd have no excus_ I mean need to go see the nurses. I wouldn't want to take their job away from them, would I?"

"... Please just collect the shuriken for the next student and go back to sit with the rest of the class." The teacher responds dryly.

"Pfft. What a dork!" Mimi giggles next to me, before becoming embarrassed herself. "Though, he did still do better than I did."

"Yeah..." I reply to her, but my thoughts are elsewhere. "That guy, Zen... I just don't get him."

"Hmm, yeah I kinda know what you mean." She says, as we both watch Zen hand the shuriken to the next boy and move to sit down. "But, he's always been the 'Mud Boy' for me, so I just don't think about it too much."

 _The 'Mud Boy'... I wasn't in his class during the basic course, so I wasn't there when he got that name. Mimi was, and she told me it was because he almost always had mud on him from playing in the stuff. When we were put into the same class two years ago, I'd still see him with mud on him some times, but it was a rare occurrence. Nowadays it's rare to see him overly dirty at all during class._

I watch as Zen sits down and tries to talk to the boys near him. However, it looks like they just respond curtly and edge away from him. After which he simply pouts a bit and lies down on his side facing away from us.

 _That's one thing though that Mimi says hasn't changed since she's known him. He doesn't seem to have any friends, and spends his time playing or training by himself. I think some of the other boys had tried picking on him, and it didn't go well for them I guess, as now they all keep away from him. I think there was something about his family too, but I don't really know any specifics. He just..._

"He just frustrates me is all." I tell the girl next to me, a small frown on my face, as I observe the boy on the other side of the group of students.

"Ooohh. What's this?" Mimi asks me quietly, and with a teasing tone. "Does Tenten have a crush on the class loner? Does she want to crack open his cold, rock shell to get to the smiling 'Mud Boy' inside, huh?"

I don't respond to her. I just narrow my eyes and turn to look at her like she couldn't be any stupider right now... She seems to get the message.

"Heh, right." She responds shyly, and looks away; gently pulling on some of her hair again. "I didn't **actually** think so."

"Geeze, Mimi." I say to her in a strict tone. "With graduation and becoming genin shinobi less than a year away, we need to be focussed on training our bodies and honing our skills. When we become genin we will have to do missions and I want us both to be ready for that. Neither of us has time to think about boys right now. Especially not frustrating boys like him."

I look back to the boy in question.

 _He frustrates me because I can't tell if he is a good shinobi or a_ _ **joke**_ _. In the theory classes he gets the lowest marks, and in the Ninjutsu class he is actually getting the lowset grade in history, or so the rumour goes. Normally I'd just pass that kind of person off as hopeless... But he is still_ _ **passing**_ _, and it's because he's amazing in the physical skill classes. He's in the top 5 in weapon skills, and in Taijutsu and sparring he is_ _ **tying**_ _against Neji of all people for top place. Every time those two spar it ends in a tie, which is_ _ **crazy**_ _considering Neji is the best student in our grade. He just... aargh!_

"I hear you Tenten. I too want to be ready for being a genin." Mimi says, stopping me from thinking any more on it. I see her look over at some of the boys as she continues in a quiet voice. "But we have some really cute guys in our class. Like Kenji-kun, who's quite the hunk; Mikio-kun, who is really cute for a boy, and Neji; who has that long silky hair and light skin, he's pretty hot, though I think he could lighten up some."

"Mimi!" I whisper to her, embarrassed that she'd say stuff like that out loud. "What if someone else hears you?"

"It's okay." She responds, still talking quietly, but loud enough that some other girls near us could hear. "I'm definitely not the only girl in our class who thinks so."

I look at a couple of girls sitting near us. They are trying to make it look like they didn't hear Mimi's words, but the small blushes on their faces show otherwise.

"Hmm, and I suppose..." Mimi starts, still looking in the boy's direction, towards the opposite side of the class. "Even Zen-kun is not that bad these days."

"Huh?" I respond, not sure if I heard her right. "I thought you said he was just the 'Mud Boy'?"

"Yeah, and he still is, but..." She starts, seeming a bit embarrassed to admit this out loud. "He's changed since back then. He's really tall now, and since he let his hair grow out a bit he's become kinda... not bad. You know? Not to mention he's pretty strong now, right? I mean, he **is** the fittest guy in our class."

I look over at the boy in question. He's still lying on the ground on his side. The girls near us also look over at Zen, and all 4 of us seem to be thinking about Mimi's words.

 _He_ _ **is**_ _strong and good at fighting... When we did the mock mission last week my team had to go against a team with Zen on it. I fought against him for a bit, and it was amazing how fast and agile he was. He even made it past the instructor in one of those mock missions, so I know he is strong. He just_ _ **sucks**_ _at using any jutsu and fails all the theory classes... I still don't get him, but maybe I can see what Mimi might be talking about... I still wouldn't want to be on a team with him though._

The sound of the girls near us giggling about something brings me out of my thoughts. Just in time for the class to be over too it seems.

"Alright everyone. Good job today." Kurono-sensei say to everyone, as the last student hands him the shuriken. "It is lunch break now, but remember to keep practicing your throws; both shuriken and kunai. After the mid-year practice exam, you will be legally allowed to acquire your own fully sharpened and battle-ready weapons, but only if you score a high enough mark. So make good use of your own practice time. Okay... dismissed!"

"Yes! I can't wait!" I cheer to myself as I stand up and prepare for lunch break. "Not long now till I can go out and spend my savings on some real shinobi gear!"

"Wow Tenten, you really like sharp pointy things don't you?" Mimi says to me in a joking voice, as she stands up beside me. "Do we need to be worried about your mental health before we even reach genin?"

I roll my eyes at her comment, and I start walking to the locker area to get my lunch.

"Geeze Mimi..." I respond to her, shaking my head as I walk. "It's not my fault that good weapons are more useful than all the boys in our class... combined."

Some of the boys who heard me give me dirty looks, while others just laugh.

"Ouch Tenten." Mimi says with a grin on her face. "I think we should hurry up and get our lunch before the boys' pride becomes an endangered species."

We both laugh, at the reactions we get. I notice that Neji has already marched off and didn't hear us, and Zen has... completely disappeared.

 _Wow. Zen vanished really quick today. Well, I think he was hurt so maybe he has gone to get checked out or to rest up some more... or maybe he is just incredibly hungry... Yeah, that sounds more like him._

* * *

"Okay class, that's it for now. You're all free to go for your lunch break." Iruka-sensei calls out from the front of the classroom, getting a chorus of cheers now that the lecture is over. "Don't go too far, and be back here in time for the next class. Next up is a Ninjutsu practical class, so eat up. You will need all the energy you can get for moulding chakra. Now... Dismissed!"

"Yeah! Break Time!" A loud voice from the other side of the room draws my, and a lot of the other's attention. "I'm glad that boring class is finally over! General studies stuff is useless for a shinobi; it's **so** lame!"

 _That shout was from Na__

"Narumi!" The teacher calls out to the loud girl, a stern frown on his face. "General studies are useful for **people** , regardless of their profession. Also, please don't forget your notebook next time. I don't want to have to remind you to go and get it for **every** class!"

I hear people around the room giggling or laughing at Narumi's mistakes as they move about preparing for lunch. Narumi on the other hand is sitting at her spot near the windows and is looking apologetic.

"Hehe... sorry Iruka-sensei" Narumi replies, with an embarrassed smile on her face and one hand up behind her head. "I'll definitely remember next time."

"*sigh*... For your sake I hope you do." Iruka-sensei responds with a sigh, and a small face-palm. "Well, take care you lot. I'll see you after lunch."

After that Iruka-sensei walks out of the room. Discussion quickly erupts throughout the class once he has left. People talking about the class, or about their lunch.

 _I should go out and get my lunch now too. The chef did a good job today, so I am looking forward to it... but, maybe I'll wait till the rest of the class has gone out... or, maybe I could ask Narumi-san... if she wants to eat lunch with me today... or something..._

Since I decided to wait for a bit, I look over at Narumi. She is slumped lazily over the desk and is talking to a couple of boys sitting in the row in front of her.

"Man! I wish Iruka-sensei would get **off** my case!" She complains to the boys. "Why doesn't he get mad at anyone else like he does with me?"

"Maybe it's because you're such a dunce, eh Uzumaki?" One of them replies.

"Hey! I am **not** a dunce!" She sits up and replies loudly. "I am a great and proud shinobi! One day I'm gonna be the Hokage, and I'll be the best Hokage ever, **ya know**!"

The boys in front of her laugh at her words, so do some of the others in our class. Though I notice Sasuke has completely ignored the situation, and has even used Narumi's outbursts to escape unnoticed.

 _Narumi-san... you're so passionate and straightforward about what you want... I wish I had half as much confidence as you do... then maybe my father wouldn't be so disappointed in me..._

My thoughts are cut off there though, as another loud voice calls out from the window directly behind Narumi.

"Na-chan!"

The shout from behind her catches Narumi by surprise and causes her to slide forward a bit and off the chair, ending up almost under the desk. The voice comes from a boy who is now hanging into the classroom though the window. He is lying on his stomach over the windowsill, like he was hung out to dry there by someone. A big grin is on his face and his... _wow_... silver eyes are sparkling with amusement behind the few locks of his dark violet hair that hang near his face. I can see he is wearing a loose fitting black long sleeve shirt, but his legs are outside so I can't see anything else about his attire.

 _Who... who is that boy... I think I have seen him around here before, but I haven't spoken to him. This is the second floor, what is he doing here hanging in through the window like that? Also, I wonder who 'Na-chan' is?_

"Who the heck are you?" One of the boys near Narumi asks to the boy in the window. "And who the heck is 'Na-chan'?"

The boy in the window glances at our classmate who called out to him, but his gaze is drawn to Narumi instead as she gets back up, still facing away from him. The rest of the class seems to have stopped to watch what is happening as well.

"Don't you..." Narumi starts, looking annoyed, before spinning around and jumping up to stand on the bench seats, pointing a finger and glaring at the boy in the window. "Don't you go calling me 'Na-chan' like that, you Jerk Zen!"

 _Wha... Narumi-san is 'Na-chan'? Is this boy a friend of her's? When did this happen?_

"Huh? Wait... 'Na-chan' is Uzumaki here?" the other boy sitting near Narumi asks, pointing disbelievingly at Narumi and sounding amused. "Pfft... that's awesome. Using a cutsie name for this tomboy dunce is sooo funny."

He laughs the last part, and some others in the class laugh too. Narumi quickly turns to our classmate to retort, but keeps her finger pointed at the boy in the window.

"Hey! I'm not a tomboy, or a dunce. And don't call me that." Narumi replies, a slight blush on her face now from embarrassment I guess. She then turns back to her front to address the boy in the window again. "And Zen! Why're you hanging in the window here?"

 _His name is Zen then... why does that sound familiar? I know I have heard someone saying it, but I can't remember who, or when._

"What? I just finished a Weapons class and I thought I'd come say 'Hi' to my new friend 'Na-chan'." The boy Zen responds with an innocent smile on his face.

"I said, don't call me that!" Is Narumi's immediate and irritated response.

"Oh, come on Narumi. Don't be like that." The boy Zen says before he somersaults forward in through the window, landing in a seated position in front of Narumi. He then proceeds to...

 _Ohmygosh... what does this boy think he's doing to Narumi-san!_

I can feel myself blushing as I watch the boy nonchalantly raise the front of Narumi's orange skirt and look at her legs. Narumi has frozen and her face is red now; with anger or embarrassment I don't know.

"... How many pairs of these boring spats do you own Narumi?" He asks, like it is perfectly normal to do so. "Also_"

Narumi doesn't stay still for long though. She quickly kicks the boy in front of her with a left roundhouse kick, sending him sailing over the desks to land at the front of the classroom. The boy blocked the kick with his arms , but it was still strong enough to send him over 2 rows of desks.

"What the crap do you think you're doing flipping up a girl's skirt like that, you Pervert Jerk!" Narumi yells out, before she walks on top of the desks to get to the front where the boy Zen landed, and is still on the floor. I can hear him groan a bit as he sits up and rubs his back.

 _Narumi-san... she is quite careless with her modesty... I think we've all seen up her skirt at least once since being put into the same class... But still, what that boy did was very rude... directly looking and commenting on her... her undergarments! Who is this boy?_

"Ouch, Narumi." The boy Zen says as he stands up to face... down at Narumi. He is quite tall, now that I see him fully. "I was just checking to see if you were still hurt or not. We did get quite rough last night after all, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

 _La-la-la-last... night?... Rough? Wha-what does he mean by that?_

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine." Narumi replies, distracted by the boy's apparent concern for her well-being. She then puts her hands on her hips and takes a proud stance. "I told you I'd be okay. I can take something like that **any** day, even if it hurts a bit afterward. I'm an awesome kunoichi, so I won't let some soreness and scrapes on my legs stop **me** , ya know!"

 _Hurt afterward... soreness... but she'd take it_ _ **any**_ _day... wha-wha-wha-what did they do?... maybe, stuff like... like_ _ **that**_ _!_

I can feel my face beginning to heat up a lot thinking about what might have happened. I look around the classroom a bit and notice that a few of the girls are also starting to blush a bit at... I don't want to know what. Other students still in the room are starting to whisper to themselves as well.

"That's the spirit Narumi!" The boy responds with a grin. "I was a bit worried when you were on top of me shouting stuff out, but I think you enjoyed yesterday as much as I did, didn't you?"

 _O-o-o-on t-top... shouting... enjoyed it?_ *blush*

At this point my face is so flushed I think steam would be coming out of my head, if such a thing was physically possible. I think some of our classmates are starting to get uncomfortable too. I can see Sakura start to stand up.

"Hey, Zen! Don't talk about that embarrassing stuff." Narumi says shyly, a small bit of red tinting her cheeks. "I was just confused, since it was my first time with something like tha_"

"OKAY. I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Sakura suddenly yells out, and storms down to the front of the room. Our classmates are silent, and they watch as Sakura approaches a shocked and confused Narumi, and a surprised Zen. When Sakura reaches them she points a finger at the two and yells some more. "Will you two perverts please shut up and go somewhere else to talk about such dirty things! Leave the rest of us out of it!"

 _Na-Na-Na-Narumi-san's... first... first time with... Hyauu_ *blush*

I think I'm about to pass out from the sudden rush of stimulating thoughts... and the blood rushing to my face.

"What's your problem Sakura!" Narumi says as she gets over her surprise, and responds heatedly to the girl's comment. "Who are you calling a pervert? And **what** dirty things are you talking about?"

"You two are the perverts!" The pink haired girl responds, with fire in her words. "Saying stuff about... about your first time, being on top of him shouting, it was rough and it... it hurt but you'd do it again! That's so gross, you perverts!"

 _W-wow... Sakura-san said it out loud... how can she say things like... like that out loud..._

I think half the girls and even some boys are blushing almost as bad as I am. Sakura is bright red now, having said it all out loud herself. Narumi however, is showing nothing but pure shock on her face. She stares at Sakura for a moment, then she slowly looks out over the others in the class. I look down when her gaze goes past me.

"Whoo yeeah!" One of the boys calls out.

Narumi simply keeps the shocked look on her face as she turns back to look at the boy Zen standing next to her. He is sporting a cheeky grin on his face, as he waggles his eyebrows at Narumi. Narumi's expression doesn't change, but she slowly turns completely red in the face herself; the colour of her skin almost matching that of her hair.

 _Oh... maybe it was supposed to be a secret... but Narumi-san said half of it herself... she is a bit absent-minded though..._

"So Narumi, how about you and I gowhoaa_" The boy Zen starts to say with a smile, but Narumi's left leg swings up with great speed and power, aiming to kick the boy standing in front of her straight between his legs. The boy is fast enough to save himself though, by putting his hands down and catching the kick just before it touches him. The boy looks down wide-eyed and surprised as he is forced to keep his hands there, holding back Narumi's foot from going any further. He puts on a weak smile as he looks back up at Narumi and speaks to her in a slightly higher pitch voice.

"Narumi-san, you... tried to kick me in the soft bits." The boy says to his attacker. The still red faced Narumi on the other side is also smiling, but her smile is strained and could probably be described as a 'you're dead, you just don't know it yet' kind of expression... like I remember Mother directing at Father sometimes... while she was still...

"Oh... did I?" Narumi responds, still keeping the strained smile, as well as keeping her leg where it is.

"Narumi-san... you're **still** trying to kick me in the soft bits." The boy responds again in a shaky voice, the weak smile still showing on his face as he continues to hold back Narumi's leg. "Can you **stop** trying to kick me in the soft bits for now? Okay?"

"Hmph!" Narumi responds as she relents and brings her leg back down. Letting the boy relax a bit before she points at him and continues, still a bit red in the face. "Stupid Pervert Jerk Zen! What the crap do you think you're doing, making me say gross embarrassing stuff like **that**?!"

"Hey. I didn't **make** you say anything." The boy responds as he straightens himself out, now with an amused smile on his face. "I only mentioned about how we were playing a game of **Tag** yesterday and we got a bit hurt. Nothing gross or embarrassing at all!"

 _Huh... a game of... Tag...What?... but... they said..._

I notice the blushes on our classmates faces disappearing; being replaced with looks of confusion or exasperation instead.

"Wait what!" Sakura calls out, now looking at the boy Zen. "You two were talking about playing 'Tag'? Not doing something... indecent?"

"No! Of course not!" Narumi responds loudly, a perturbed look on her face. "We were just running around the village and the forest yesterday. That's all, ya know!"

 _They were just running around... that's good. I thought I was about to faint from thinking about... Hyauu_ *blush* _I can't even think it..._

"Well... well if you were just running around then how'd you get hurt?" Sakura asks next.

"We were running in the forest and I... I fell down a hole in the ground." Narumi responds, trying to explain the situation. She's trying to remove the embarrassing misunderstanding, but she appears to also be embarrassed about falling down too. "It was a **big** hole; a **canyon**! Easy to fall in, ya know!"

A few of our classmates laugh a bit while Sakura pauses a moment to digest Narumi's words and consider how to continue her interrogation. She blushes a bit again as she asks her next question.

"Then what about... about being on top and shouting and... and it was your first time with something?!" She asks, her face reddening again a bit more with each word.

 _With how this is going I don't think anything i-indecent happened, but... but why was Narumi-san on top of that boy?_

"Huh? Um... well, Zen saved me when I fell in." Narumi responds, a slight blush on her face as she talks. "He caught me and we both fell. I ended up landing on him, and... and it was the first time someone has... has saved me like that... ya know."

Narumi's voice trails off to a quiet mumble by the end of her sentence.

 _Oh, so this boy Zen saved Narumi when she fell. That's good. I'm glad that they weren't hurt too bad... and that it wasn't something in-indecent._

"Booo!" One of the boys calls out again. I think it was the same boy as before too...

"Hey! Shut up!" Narumi calls out to the jeering classmate. "That's what really happened! Nothing dirty at all!"

"Fine!" Sakura says, drawing Narumi's attention back to her. "Whatever, you say Narumi. Just don't go bringing any more of your **stupidity** in here."

Narumi looks affronted by Sakura's demand, and she is about to retort but Sakura cuts her off by pointing next at the boy Zen. The boy has so far been quietly observing the calamity, with an amused smile.

"And You!" Sakura starts. "Who are you? And why are you coming into our classroom and creating this disturbance?"

 _Yes! Who is this boy that saved Narumi while they were playing Tag? He said he was Narumi's new friend. Did they meet yesterday or something?_

"Firstly; neither Narumi **nor** myself said anything disturbing." The boy says, with a grin on his face. "That was all in how **you** people interpreted our words."

Sakura and some of our other classmates seem offended by that statement.

 _Though I guess... what he said is true. They didn't say anything explicitly indecent... we were the ones who thought it was something like that... They could've said things differently though._

"Secondly;" The boy continues, still grinning. "I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Zen, Zen Ryūsei. I'm a student here like you guys are, only I'm one year ahead of you. Also, yesterday I became Narumi's friend when I outran her for a couple of hours and then saved her from a **stupid** stunt she pulled."

"Hey!" Narumi interjects, giving the boy an annoyed look. "You were just as stupid to jump over that canyon! You almost didn't make it, ya know!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha... maybe. Though, I'd done it before; you hadn't, right." The boy responds with a joking laugh which causes Narumi to look away in protest. He then starts looking around at all the students still in the classroom. Quite a few of them have already lost interest and have either left or resumed their own activities. When his gaze falls on me I look down to avoid him seeing me observing them.

 _I hope he didn't think I was staring at them... I hope he doesn't think I'm weird... or tell Narumi that I'm weird or something..._

"Hey Narumi." The boy says, getting the red-haired girl's attention and causing me to jump a bit. "You've got some cute girls in your class."

 _C-c-cu-cute girls... he couldn't mean... no he didn't mean me. Not with the other girls in our class like Sakura-san, Ino-san, and even Narumi-san being much cuter than m__

"Though you seem to have the same **awful** 1:2 ratio of girls to boys that my class has." The boy Zen continues with a sigh and a seemingly wistful smile on his face. "Altogether too much flint and not enough flowers in the world, I say."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Narumi asks, a confused look on her face.

"Well, it_" The boy starts to respond but a shout from the back of the room cuts him off.

"Will you two **morons** just take it somewhere else!" A boy in the row to my left calls out, followed by a cute little bark from the small dog on his shoulder. "I wanna eat my lunch now, but your stupid talking is annoying me."

 _Kiba-kun? Oh, I hope he doesn't start a fight. He usually antagonizes Narumi the most out of our classmates, so with this incident I am not surprised he is calling them out now._ '

"Don't just come barging into our classroom and start making noise." Kiba says as he stands up and walks down to the front of the room, his dog clinging valiantly to its place on Kiba's shoulder. "Go back to your own classroom or something, and stop **bothering** us!"

When he stops in front of the boy Zen, Kiba has to look up at the boy too, since the boy is taller than he is. I'd say that the boy Zen is even taller than the tallest boy in our class, Shino. The boy doesn't immediately respond; he simply tilts his head to the right to look at Kiba's dog Akamaru, who barks at him in response to the boy's inquisitive gaze.

"Hey I'm talkin_" Kiba starts to say but the boy Zen cuts him off.

"So, you're an Inuzuka I take it?" He says, momentarily giving Kiba pause.

"Huh? Ah, yeah I am." Kiba responds, shifting into a smug manner. "So you can tell just from looking at me, huh? Well, I'm from a famous and powerful clan so that's to be expected."

"... Right. Well, the ninja dog on your shoulder is a dead giveaway." The boy Zen responds in a flat tone. "Though, even if I hadn't seen any dogs... I can definitely smell them on you, that's for sure."

"What did you say!?" Kiba asks back harshly, stepping closer to the boy Zen. "You trying to start something, bastard?"

 _Oh no... are they going to start a fight in the classroom? Kiba doesn't like it when people say things like that about him._

The boy Zen though, raises his hands in a placating gesture.

"No, no. I didn't say it was a **bad** thing." He says, before quickly placing a hand on Kiba's unoccupied shoulder in a reassuring manner. "I mean, maybe the girls might like that kind of thing. You know, a **wild** sort of appeal, eh?"

"Huh? Ye-yeah. I guess the girls think I'm pretty cool and all." Kiba says, a bit of pride showing in his voice. "I mean, I **am** _"

"No, you just stink." Narumi bluntly cuts him off.

"Wha... Hey_" Kiba starts, but is interrupted by Sakura who is still standing nearby.

"Yeah, you really do." She says, showing a kind of disgusted expression on her face.

"Yeah, please learn to take proper baths Kiba." Another girl in our class, Ino, calls out to add her opinion into the conversation. "Don't go bathing with your **dogs**."

Kiba growls a bit while some of the others in our class laugh at the accusations regarding his hygiene.

 _Ino-san, Sakura-san, and even Narumi-san, that wasn't nice of them to say those things... even if Kiba does sometimes smell a bit bad, they shouldn't say mean things like that._

"Ahh... Well, I guess I was wrong then." The boy Zen says, an amused smile on his ace as he steps back from Kiba and puts his hands together in an apologetic manner. "You have my condolences."

Kiba is visibly getting angry now. He turns to face the boy Zen and responds heatedly.

"Screw you, bastard." Kiba grows out. "At least I don't smell like a **girl** , like you do. I can tell that you use the same flowery hair products that **Ino** does. You Pansy!"

The people left in the room, mostly the girls, seem to stop and look at the boy Zen oddly after Kiba's outburst. Even Narumi is eyeing him oddly.

"What?... What's wrong with taking pride in my personal hygiene and hair care?" The boy Zen asks, pouting at the disbelieving looks he is getting. He quickly turns to Narumi though, and grabs her by the shoulders, startling her. "Anyway, my original reason for coming here was to ask if I could join you for lunch today Narumi. We **are** friends now, after all."

"Huh?" At first Narumi seems surprised, and then confused, followed by grinning as she responds. "Ohh, yeah! That'd be great. Let's do it, ya know!"

 _Eh... Narumi will be eating lunch with that boy today... but... did she even bring any lunch today?_

"Whatever, pansy morons." Kiba says dismissively as he walks back to his spot in the back row.

Sakura also dismisses the two and moves back to her spot with Ino and the other girls.

"So Zen!" Narumi says excitedly. She's almost vibrating in place with a megawatt smile on her face, looking up at the older boy. "Since we're friends now, and you're like my **senpai**... you're going to treat me to lunch, right?"

 _Whawawa... Narumi-san can be really cute sometimes... with her two pigtails waggling, she's like a little bunny rabbit or something... I can almost see sparkles in her eyes there._

"Eh?... I didn't bring any food today..." The boy Zen responds, a concerned look on his face now. "I was actually hoping you would share some of your lunch with me."

"Huh?... But I didn't bring any lunch either..." She responds slowly, her expression flattening out as she stares at the boy in front of her.

"Hmm... well that puts us in a bind then, doesn't it..." The boy responds with an equally flat tone and facial expression. "... Why didn't you bring lunch today?"

"I never bring any lunch." Narumi responds, maintaining her unimpressed look. "Why didn't you?"

"I got out of the hospital too late to buy food yesterday." The boy says, deflating at their lunchless situation. "It seems we're both ill-equipped to fight the foe known as 'Hunger' at the moment."

"Morons!" I hear Kiba say, as he starts eating in the row next to mine.

 _Maybe... maybe I can offer them some of my lunch... though I don't have enough for three, I could spare some for today... for Narumi maybe._

"Right... Well then!" Narumi's mood does a complete reversal, going back to excited in a single moment. "How about we go out for lunch! I know just the place too!"

Narumi moves past the boy, grabbing his hand on the way and starts to pull him out of the room.

"Wha... Hey, where are we going?" He says as he lets Narumi pull him along.

 _Oh... they're leaving... maybe next time, I guess..._

"We're going to my favourite food stall in the whole village!" She says with a bright smile on her face as she continues to pull the boy along behind her. "And, since you ditched me last night, you can pay for my lunch today."

"Wait, what?" The boy calls out in protest behind Narumi, but neither of them stop walking. "Why should I pay?"

"Hehe... just because." Narumi responds cheekily.

I watch them as they walk out of the room and head off to lunch. Seeing the two leave makes me think about the whole event that just happened.

 _It has been a while since I've seen Narumi-san look that happy or excited about something. Maybe since she became able to perform her first jutsu... Despite being embarrassed or annoyed at that Zen boy, she was still smiling about having him come here for her like he did. Maybe that boy isn't so bad if he can make Narumi-san smile like that... I still think I've heard of him before, but I don't__

"Thank goodness those two have left." Sakura complains to her group of friends. "Narumi's idiocy is bad enough without that Zen guy being here too. He may not have said anything dirty, but I can tell he said it all like that on purpose so we'd think it was."

"I thought it was funny seeing that tomboy Narumi getting all embarrassed like that." Ino adds with clear amusement in her voice. "Also, if that guy uses the same shampoo and conditioner that I do, then he at least has good taste in hair products."

I hear Kiba let out a derisive snort from Ino's comment; Akamaru barks cutely at it too. The girls in class either don't notice or don't care though, as they continue talking. I get my lunch out and open it up.

 _I need to eat too before the lunch break is over. I wonder if Narumi-san will be back before the next class starts... she usually isn't... but with that Zen boy with her she might come back in time... I hope. I still can't help but think that Zen boy is familiar from somewhere though..._

I start eating my lunch, keeping to myself like I usually do. I listen back in on the group of girls though when one of them mentions something that triggers my memory.

"'Mud Boy'" A girl called Ami says mockingly. "My older brother is in the same class as that Zen guy and that's what they call him."

 _Mud Boy... why does that sound familiar?_

"Mud Boy" The others question, with Ino asking further. "Why would someone be called that?"

"Apparently he played in the mud when he was a kid and was always covered in dirt when he went to class." Ami responds. "Though he doesn't do it anymore they still call him that because he is apparently the dead last in his class. From seeing him now I can tell he is a total dork."

"So he is the worst student in his class?" Asks Sakura, a smug smile coming onto her face. "It makes sense then why he'd be friends with that air-head Narumi then."

 _... I know Narumi-san isn't the brightest person, but she is the most determined and strong hearted people I've ever seen... It makes me sad to hear people talk bad about her like that when I admire her as much as I do... I just wish I could be friends with Narumi... she has that boy now though, so I don't think I coul__

"Wait Ami." Another girl speaks up. Mio I think her name is. "My older sister is also in that class, and she told me that the guy with the lowest score overall was actually like really good. She said he was actually tying for first spot in taijutsu and sparring, and that only the top student can match him. Are you sure it's the same guy?"

 _Tying with... That's it! I remember now._

"Well, I only know what my brother said, so I'm not a hundred percent sure or anything." Ami replies, a little confused with the differing opinions.

"Enough about Narumi's dorky friend." Sakura cuts in sharply, before blushing and continuing. "Let's talk about how well we think Sasuke-kun is going to do in the Ninjutsu class we have up next."

"Kyaaa! Yeah. Sasuke-kun is so much better than any other boy!" One of them calls out.

I tune them out as I focus on my own thoughts now. I remembered where I'd heard that boy's name now.

 _That's right... I had overheard Neji-niisan talking with father about his academy classes a couple of years ago. Neji-niisan mentioned being the best in almost all subjects, but was actually tying for first in taijutsu and sparring. I remember it because father was quite surprised to hear that, since he knows how skilled Neji-niisan is. Father had asked about who was keeping up with him and Neji-niisan had described the other student mentioning his 'Mud Boy' nickname. I also remember it because father was quite upset with Neji-niisan, that is until the other boy's name was mentioned... Zen Ryūsei... after hearing that father became quiet and told Neji-niisan to keep up his training to surpass the other boy before dismissing him. I remember father being much more subdued and thoughtful for the remainder of the day._

 _I remember that incident now... If that is the same boy as the one that was here with Narumi-san before, then he isn't a bad student and I have to wonder what he wants with Narumi-san... Maybe they_ _ **are**_ _just friends, which means... with a strong friend like that... there's no way Narumi-san would want to be friends with a... with someone like me..._

"My lunch today is quite delicious." I say to no one in particular, but I whisper the next part so no one can hear me. "I wish I had someone to share it with though... the chef always makes so much of it..."

* * *

 _Ramen! Ramen! Free Ramen, Yeah!_

I've got Zen by the wrist and I am pulling him though the Academy grounds to the gate so we can leave to go to Ichiraku's.

 _Ramen! Ramen! Free Ramen, Yeah!_

"Whoa, pause for a second Narumi" He says as I pull him along.

"Nope. No time to wait." I say with a big grin at the thought of free ramen. "Lunch break doesn't last forever, ya know."

"I'm fully aware of the limits imposed on our break times." He says as I continue to pull on his arm. "I simply want to ask if you have any other people here who you want to invite to join us. I'm quite happy for it to be just the two of us, but I don't want to stop you from having lunch with whoever you normally eat with."

I slow down when he says that... I don't stop though, ramen is waiting after all.

 _No... I..._

"I... I don't have lunch with anyone else usually." I say quietly, not looking back at Zen. "That's okay though, I don't need to eat with jerks who don't recognize my greatness, ya know."

He doesn't respond immediately; he just keeps walking behind me.

"I see..." He says finally, before walking faster so he is next to me now. "Meh! Their loss."

I look up at his face as he gives me a grin and walks ahead of me through the academy gate making me let go of his hand.

"Come on Narumi." He says as he looks back at me with a smile now. "Lunch will be over soon if you don't show me where this place is. Also... I guess I can pay for half of your lunch today."

I can't help the big grin that spreads across my face now.

"Yeah! Free Ramen!" I call out in joy, as I run off ahead of him again.

"Hey, I only said I'd pay for half of your lunch, not..." Zen starts as he runs after me. "... Wait. **Ramen**? We're getting Ramen?"

==- A few minutes later -==

"Ramen... Ichiraku." Zen says slowly as we stand in front of the best shop in the whole Leaf village. "You really want to eat **ramen** for lunch?"

"Of course!" I say back to him before I step forward into the shop and call out to the owner. "Hi Teuchi-ojisan! I'm here for some Ramen!"

I step in pushing past the short curtain that covers the shop front and take a deep breath. My mouth begins to water when I take in the amazing smell of lots of ramen cooking.

"Excuse us..." Zen says politely as he walks in after me. We are then greeted by my second favourite old man, besides the Hokage. This one is Mr Teuchi and he is behind the counter wearing the white ramen chefs uniform I always see him in.

"Ohh, Narumi. Welcome!" Mr Teuchi says with a grin when he turns around. He glances at Zen as well when Zen walks in behind me. "And I see you brought someone with you today."

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." Zen says with a smile and small bow... _since when is he so polite._ "My name is Zen Ryūsei, I'm Narumi's friend from the Academy, though we only became friends yesterday."

Mr Teuchi loses the smile from his face and stares at Zen with a hard look that I don't understand. I look back at Zen to see that he has tensed up and is staring back at Mr Teuchi, no longer smiling now too. The weird moment goes on for a while and I'm about to say something to them since I'm getting worried, but Mr Teuchi speaks up instead.

"The name's Teuchi, welcome to Ramen Ichiraku." He says roughly, as he crosses his arms in front of him, still holding his ramen ladle. He then leans forward, still staring at Zen. "Now, before anything else, let me say this kid..."

 _Wha... what's going on here? Why is Teuchi-ojisan being scary towards Zen? Why is Zen looking like he is ready to fight or something? I... I gotta do something abou__

Mr Teuchi suddenly points his ladle at me, cutting off my thoughts as he keeps going.

"Narumi here is one of my best customers." He says, narrowing his eyes at Zen. "So you better treat her right or you and I will be having **words**. Got it!"

 _Huh... Is Teuchi-ojisan... worried about me... is that what's happening?_

Zen – like me – seems stunned at Mr Teuchi's words, but quickly gets a hold of himself and answers the ramen master.

"Um, I'll... I'll do my best, sir" Zen says, unsure about what's going on. He frowns for a bit before turning to me and smiling. "Well, good for you Narumi. What do you want to eat? Our lunch break has a defined end, and it is not that far away. I'm paying for half remember, so order up!"

"... Defined end?... Right... um..." I start to say back, not sure what just happened, but I smile a bit anyway.

 _Um, I guess it's okay now... Zen is smiling again and even Teuchi-ojisan has stopped glaring... Whatever. Ramen time now!_

"Teuchi-ojisan. A large order of miso ramen with extra pork please!" I call out, grinning now that I can get me some lunch. I take a seat and turn to Zen as he sits down to my left. "What are you gonna have Zen?"

Zen is looking up at the menu written on boards above the ramen cooking area.

"Hmm, well I've only had ramen once before." He says looking at up at the menu. His words shock me though. "So I guess I'll have the same as you."

"Right. Two large Miso with pork." Mr Teuchi says, then he turns around to start making the ramen.

"Wait, Zen... You've only had ramen here once before?" I ask, since I don't know why anyone would only come here once.

"No. This is my first time as a patron of this establishment." He replies as he turns to me... and I don't get it. I think I saw Mr Teuchi fumble a bit though when Zen continues. "I have eaten ramen from a different place once before."

I freeze up when he says that.

 _... What?! What did Zen just say?_

"Wait... What?" I start to say, super shocked at this new info Zen's given me. "There are other places in the village that serve Ramen?!"

Zen gives me a confused look before responding.

"Huh... Ah, yeah. There are probably a few places tha_ah" Zen starts to say, but he clams up and starts looking nervous. I think I see Mr Teuchi holding a knife, but I'm not really paying attention.

"Other places that sell ramen..." I say in wonder, before leaning toward Zen and grabbing his shirt in both my hands. "What places Zen? Where? How much? What types of ramen?... Was it good ramen?"

Zen seems to be stunned by my questions. He is quickly looking back and forth between me and Mr Teuchi.

"Um... Well... Narumi, I'm sure that the other places are fine, but this place is likely the best." He says, and for some reason he looks really nervous now... weird. "It's even in the name here, right? Ramen is the 'Ichi-raku', the 'number one pleasure'. Once I actually consume some ramen from this **top** establishment I'm sure I will be able to extol this fact with surety."

"... O... kay..." I say slowly as I let go of Zen's shirt and sit back. I glance at Mr Teuchi to see he is smiling and happily making our lunch ramen. "So... Ichiraku is the **best**... Yeah, I can believe that. Why didn't ya just say that from the start... getting me all excited about new ramen..."

Zen sighs and relaxes next to me as we wait for our food. He leans his elbows on the counter and looks forward, not saying anything. It's quiet for a bit before Zen turns to me and talks.

"Say Narumi, can I ask you some... things?" He asks, with – I think – concern in his voice.

"Yeah... What?" I say back, wondering what he's going to say.

"Well, I was just wondering if you had any other friends." He says, looking directly into my eyes now. "Are you friends with any of the other girls in your class?"

 _Why's he talking about this again... I'd rather not think about this stuff when ramen is right there... Teuchi-ojisan is there too._

"No, I... I don't really have any other friends." I say back, a bit annoyed that Zen is bringing this up now. "I used to play with some of the boys a while ago but they told me they don't want to play with girls anymore. And the other girls in my class are all stupid Sasuke fans, so I wouldn't want to be friends with them! Why are you asking me this?"

Zen looks back at me silently a bit before answering me.

"Have you **tried** making friends with the girls in your class?" He asks, making me frown. "Well, it doesn't have to be girls in **your** class, but I think you should make some friends with other girls."

"Wha... why?" I ask, worried about why he'd say that. "Why do I need girl friends?... Don't you want to be my friend anymore?"

"What? No! Of course I still want to be your friend." He says back very quickly and firmly, which kinda makes me happy. "Having more friends is always better though. Not to mention that you'll need girl friends to have the secret and mysterious conversations called 'Girl Talk' with. I'm not of the female mind, so you can't have girl talk with me."

 _Girl Talk?..._

I see Mr Teuchi nodding his head off to the side, but I don't know what they're talking about.

"What the crap is 'Girl Talk'?" I ask, a confused look on my face. "And why do I need to have this 'girl talk' anyway?"

"What's this I hear about girl talk?" A person says from outside the shop, I recognize the voice though.

Zen and I turn around as an older girl walks into the ramen shop behind us. Zen straightens himself up as she walks in and I wave both my hands at the girl.

"Ayame-nee!" I call out to the older girl as she walks in; I'm smiling since I get to see Ayame at lunch today. "Are you done with your school stuff for today, or are ya just on lunch break like we are?"

"I'm done for the day." Ayame says as she walks around behind the counter and into the back room, though we can still hear her. "We had an exam today, so we were able to take the rest of the day off."

She walks back out a few moments later now wearing the white and blue Ichiraku uniform, and walks to stand on the other side of the counter to where Zen and I are sitting. She glances at both Zen and me before she starts talking to us.

"So, how's it going Narumi?" She asks me with a smile on her face. "Are you on lunch break now, or are you skipping classes **again**?"

"No! I'm not skipping. I am on lunch break for **real**." I say back, pouting at her thinking I'm skipping. "I don't skip class that often."

"Good!" She says, before she glances at Zen. "So, who's this you're with? Are you going to introduce us?"

 _Huh, introduce?... Oh right, you're supposed to introduce people when you bring them along. I guess having friends has rules like that, doesn't it?_

"My sentiments exactly." Zen says with a smile as he turns to face me. "Narumi, you never told me you knew a beautiful Onee-san like this young lady here."

"Huh." I wonder what Zen's going on about now. I narrow my eyes at him, as he turns back to continue to talk to Ayame.

"Please allow me to introduce myself." He says with a smile. "My name is Zen Ryūsei and I am an academy student like Narumi is."

"Zen-kun, is it?" Ayame asks with a smile as well. "My name's Ayame. My father owns this restaurant and I come here to help out at times."

"I see. Well, it is a pleasure to meet you Ayame-san." Zen says back. "Narumi is the one who decided to eat here today, and I'm glad I accepted her offer to join her here. I always enjoy meeting new people, especially nice girls like yourself."

 _What is this pervert playing at?..._ _He's being real nice to Ayame-nee… I better keep an eye on him._

Mr Teuchi is looking over his shoulder back at Zen too... and maybe it's just me, but he's got a kinda scary look in his eye.

"Oh, why thank you Zen-kun. It's nice to meet you too." Ayame responds to Zen, before she turns to me with a grin. "So, Narumi... Is Zen-kun here your boyfriend, hmm? Are you two on a little lunch-date today? How cute!"

"What...?" I ask Ayame, then I turn my head to look at Zen, who has turned to look at me too. We both sort of stare at each other for a moment, not saying anything.

"Nah! Zen isn't my boyfriend or anything stupid like that." I turn back to Ayame and reply, shaking my head at her silly guess.

"Indeed." Zen says next with a grin. "Yesterday, Narumi and I played a game of Tag out in the forest, and from that we became friends. Nothing more. Besides... I prefer girls who aren't vertically challenged."

"Huh! What does that mean?" I ask in confusion, but Ayame is laughing so I ignore it for now.

"Haha. I see, I see. Well Zen-kun, Narumi is a good customer here." Ayame says as she reaches over and pats my head, making me smile. "She comes here a lot and keeps us company, so you better be a good friend to her, okay."

Zen seems surprised for a moment, but smiles shortly afterward.

"Of course, Ayame-san." He says. "We may have only formed our bonds of friendship yesterday, but I can promise that I won't betray this connection that we now share."

"Aww that's so sweet!" Ayame smiles back, before she pulls her hand back and flashes a grin in my direction.

 _Damn, all this embarrassing talk is going to make me blush... when's the ramen going to be ready?_

"So what was the thing about Girl Talk from when I walked in?" Ayame asks, making me grumble about this being brought up again.

"Well, I was worried since Narumi didn't seem to have any girls she's friendly with at the Academy." Zen says as he looks at me too. "She needs people to talk to who can understand girl things. However, it appears my worries were unnecessary, as it looks like Narumi already has a splendid female role model right here."

"Of course. Narumi is like a little sister to me." Ayame says with a smile. "I enjoy having her here to talk to, and will listen to her anytime she needs it."

 _Awww… now I really am blushing, I know it…_

She then leans closer to us and whispers the next part so Mr Teuchi doesn't hear us.

"Just between us…" She starts with a cheeky grin. "It's good having someone to talk to besides my father. It can get a bit stuffy here with just him and the customers."

We're interrupted by two big bowls of ramen being placed on the counter in front of us.

"Enough whispering. Ramen is ready now." Mr Teuchi says as he expertly lays out the two meals. "Two large orders of Miso Ramen with Pork. Eat up kids."

"Oh Yeah! Ramen time." I call out as I grab a pair of chopsticks and start to dig in, gulping down a few mouthfuls of ramen goodness before I continue. "Mmm, amazing like always Teuchi-ojisan! What do you think Zen?"

I look to see Zen chewing on his first mouthful of noodles. He swallows and gives his reply.

"Well, I didn't expect ramen to be a good lunch idea." He starts with a slight frown, but smiles as he looks at me and continues. "I'm pleasantly surprised though; this is quite good."

"It sure is." I reply before eating more of my ramen lunch. "Ichiraku's ramen is the best, for sure."

"Thanks you two." Ayame says, with Mr Teuchi smiling and nodding his head behind her. "It makes father and I happy when people say they like our ramen."

"Anytime Ayame-nee!" I reply before I keep going with my lunch.

The talking stops while Zen and I work our way through the food. Zen seems to be thoroughly examining each flavour of the ramen as he eats, Ayame-nee is moving around behind the counter doing something, and Mr Teuchi is facing away from us working at one of the big pots. I manage to finish my lunch before Zen does; slurping the rest of the soup broth from my bowl and placing it back on the counter.

"Fwaaah! That was great. Thanks Teuchi-ojisan." I say with a grin.

"Heh, no problems Narumi. You're welcome here anytime." Mr Teuchi says back, still facing the other way.

"You almost done Zen?" I ask as I turn to look at Zen sitting next to me.

"Yeah, almost. This is pretty good though, so I'm taking my time." He says before taking another mouthful of food.

"Well, don't take too long, we have to get back before the next class starts." I say as I watch him eat the ramen... he's really neat with his eating.

 _It's weird how he's been polite and stuff today... a lot different from how he was with me yesterday. He has also said things weirdly a few times today. I wonder what changed. He also keeps bringing up friends at school too, it's kinda__

"Say Narumi..." Ayame speaks up, cutting off my thoughts. She's now leaning on the counter in front of us. "Regarding what you were talking about earlier, I have an opinion on it too."

"Huh. Talking about what Ayame-nee?" I ask, unsure what she means.

"About you making friends with girls from your academy." She says back... _Not this again._ "I think it would be a good idea for you to have more friends like that."

"Huh? Not you too Ayame-nee." I whine, as I fold my arms in front of me and look away from her. "First Zen, now you too. Why do I need to make friends with those stupid fan girls? I don't need them if I have you guys... ya know."

Zen is still eating and Mr Teuchi is still cooking, but I can tell that they both are paying attention to us.

"Narumi, I will always be here if you want to talk to me." Ayame starts, with a small smile on her face. "But I think that you also need friends who understand what it is to be a shinobi. Which is something I don't understand."

"But I've got Zen for that." I reply, as I turn to look at Zen, who has paused eating to look at us. He has a noodle hanging out of his mouth as he looks back and forth between Ayame and me. "He might be a sloppy shinobi, but he is still a shinobi... well, he will be a shinobi soon, I guess."

"Let me re-phrase it then Narumi." Ayame says, glancing at Zen as he sucks the noodle into his mouth. "I think you need friends who understand what it means to be a **kunoichi**. Which is something neither I, nor Zen-kun understand."

"But… but I don't…" I start to say, but I'm not sure how to properly respond.

 _But what if no one wants to be my friend… I don't want to talk to them if they're just going to tell me to get lost. Why do I even need this?_

"I agree with Ayame-san." Zen says as he places his now empty bowl down on the counter. "Plus, now is the best time to make kunoichi friends. If you wait, making friends will only become harder to accomplish."

"Huh. Why would it be harder later?" I ask him. Ayame is also looking at Zen to hear why.

"From what I've seen and have been told…" Zen says, as he turns to face me. "New genin teams are usually made up of one girl and two boys working under a jōnin sensei. The sensei are usually male too, so once you graduate from the Academy, you'll likely be surrounded by guys all the time."

"Really?" Ayame asks, surprised at what Zen told us. "That sounds like it'd get frustrating after a while; having to hang around with nothing but guys all the time."

"Hence why you should make use of this time to acquire some kunoichi friends." Zen continues. "Also, if you're friends with some **smart** girls, you could get them to help you with your grades in class too. It's a win-win if you ask me."

 _Geez… they're really pushing this, aren't they?…and did Zen just say that I'm stupid?_

I look at both Zen and Ayame. I can see that they are concerned about me… it actually makes me kinda happy, knowing that they are thinking about me like this.

 _I guess it can't be too bad to try again with the stupid fan girls… I hope._

"Ahhh, fine! I'll try talking to the stupid fan girls." I say back to them, giving them a sour look to show how much I'm not looking forward to it.

"Good. I hope you find a nice girl to befriend." Ayame says with a smile. "And when you do, you can bring her here and have some ramen to celebrate."

"Yeah, I guess." I reply half-heartedly. "I just have to figure out how to become friends with them."

"Hey, I can help you with that." Zen says, with his chest puffed out and a grin on his face. "I like talking to new people."

I give Zen a flat stare for a moment.

 _I don't trust this pervert, not after what he pulled in the classroom before._

"Yeah, no thanks." I reply flatly, causing him to slump in his seat. "My class already thinks you're annoying, I don't want you making it more worse than it already is."

"Bah, fine. I wish you luck with your endeavours." Zen says before he spins around on the seat and stands up. "Well, if we're both done then I think we should be heading back. Our next classes will be starting soon."

Zen reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out what I guess is his wallet. I don't see how much he has in there, but he pulls out a few notes and hands them to Ayame.

"This should be enough to cover both of our lunches." He says as Ayame takes the notes.

"Wait. Didn't you say you'd only pay for half my lunch?" I ask him, confused; happy, but still confused.

"I did say that." He replies, while he puts his wallet away. He then turns back to me and smiles as he continues. "But since you introduced me to this place, I am okay with paying for it all today. It's may way of saying thanks, and good luck with making friends."

I turn around and slide off the seat too. I was happy about the free meal, until he mentioned the friends thing.

"Thanks for stopping by you two." Ayame calls out. "And good luck with making friends Narumi!"

"Ergh, thanks Ayame-nee." I say back to her with a forced smile. "I'll try my best, I guess."

 _Ergh, now I really feel like I have to give this a try..._

"*sigh* Our next class starts soon, so we should be getting back I guess." I say flatly, as I start to walk out of the stall. I turn back with a smile though and wave goodbye as I go. "Bye Teuchi-ojisan, bye Ayame. Thanks for lunch. I'll be back soon."

Zen does the same and waves as he walks out.

"Yes, thanks for the good ramen." He says. "It was nice meeting you two. I'll likely be back here soon as well. See you both next time then."

"Thanks for stopping by!" Mr Teuchi calls out as we leave. Followed by Ayame.

"See you later Narumi." She calls out. "And you too Zen-kun."

We start walking back to the academy. I am satisfied with having had a free lunch, so I am grinning… until Zen reminds me what I'm going to be doing.

"Excited about making some new friends are you?" He turns to me and asks with a smug grin on his face.

"Ergh!" My face sours as I grunt in reply. "Don't remind me. I'm not looking forward to this, ya know."

"I'm aware of just how much you are dreading this." He says as he turns back to the front. "My offer to help is still available."

"Yeah. No." I say back flatly again. "I already told you that you'd just make it worse. I'll try it myself."

"Good" He says back. "We should run back to the academy now or we'll be late."

He jumps up onto a nearby roof and starts running quickly. I fire up my chakra and focus it in my lower body to follow him; quickly catching up to him.

==- A few minutes later -==

We soon near the academy and land near the front to go in. Other students are landing and running back in too.

"Alright Narumi." Zen says as he begins walking through the front gates. "I'll catch you after classes today and see how you've progressed on the friend-making task."

"What? Today?" I ask him, an annoyed look on my face as I walk in behind him. "Why do I have to start now?"

"You don't' want to disappoint Ayame-san do you?" He says as he walks into the school building. "The sooner the better with these things I say. Don't worry you'll be fine. I'll come find you later Narumi. Good Luck."

He calls out the last part before he turns a corner to walk up the stairs and out of my sight. I grumble a bit about the jerk getting me to do this now, as I head up the stairs too. The ground floor is for kids in the basic course and has lots of classrooms, so it is really busy. The second floor is for fourth and fifth year students so it has fewer classrooms, but some larger rooms; this is my level so l step into the hallway. There are less people here, and I see people from my class walking into our classroom. Zen probably is at the third floor now, which is for final year students and those who failed the final year and were held back. I only ever go up there for detention, but next year I'll be up there too, in my final year here.

 _I guess it would be nice to make some more friends to have with me when I go to class up on the third floor… I just hope it goes okay talking to them again. It's been a long time since I tried being nice to those fan girls. Not since they started going ga-ga for that jerk Sasuke, I think._

"*sigh* Well, here goes." I say to myself as I walk into my classroom. "How bad could it be?... Right?"

= = = = = = = = = = End of Chapter = = = = = = = = = =

Good 'insertTimeOfDay' Readers, and Thank you for your purchase of this Chapter of Aureate Bastion. You spent your hard earned time reading this (time **is** money after all), so I hope you enjoyed it. I don't own any part of the Naruto Franchise, I only own what comes out of my own mind... for what it's worth.

First of all... WOW, that took me waaaaaay too long to write. My original plan even had another scene at the end of this chapter, which I am now reworking and moving to the start of next chapter. I don't have any excuses for why it took me this long to write this chapter, I'm just a procrastinator. In fact I spent more time on the side documents I keep for this story than actually writing it. I have an extensive set of spread sheets that detail stats and information for lots of characters and events. I even made a 70 year timeline that shows character ages and when events happened. I was actually surprised at how many plot holes I found in the Naruto continuity when making that timeline. Which just goes to show that Kishimoto probably didn't do the same thing. If stuff didn't happen, I'd probably still be fiddling with the stat number table or something.

The only reason I got this chapter uploaded when I did was because I have a lot more free time now that I lost my job **and** my gaming computer died. It's kind of funny actually, how in the past I would read other author's excuses for delayed chapters; about how some IRL event(s) stole their writing time. I never had any of those kind of things happen to me... until I start writing myself, and now I'm jobless and down an expensive computer. So, for a while updates might come out a bit faster... still no promises though, I do have to start job-searching now.

Now, this chapter was another slow one in my opinion. No action, just character interaction and world building type stuff. We got to see things from a couple of new perspectives, and learned more about the characters, which will continue into the next chapter. I have a semi action-type scene planned for next chapter too, hopefully I get around to it quickly. It's been a while since I last choreographed a fight scene so I'll need to work out the rust. I'm writing events day-by-day at the moment, but that won't continue for long. Soon there will be larger gaps in time skipped over, so this first person perspective doesn't drag my story out to a good 50 million words or something crazy like that.

I have also been thinking of dedicating some writing time to what I am going to call my 'Hype Train'. A separate body of writing that will contain pilot chapters, teaser chapters, preview chapters, etc. This will be solely for the purpose of showcasing things I want to work on, or attempting to generate hype for things I am working on. This will include a preview chapter for Aureate Bastion that takes place much later in the story, just to show a bit of where I'm taking this and hopefully entice people to stick with me though the slow parts. Nothing too spoilery, not that I mind spoilers myself, but others do mind them.

Oh, and sorry it's tacked on the end, but I'd like to give a big thanks to all those people who have favourited or followed this story, or those magical few who left a review or comment. It means a lot to me that there are people who are interested in my work. Arigatōgozaimasu!

I'll be back...maybe soon.

Magnanimous_Z


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